The Loveland Red Wolves will face off against the Dakota Ridge Eagles at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Loveland sitting on four straight victories and Dakota Ridge on nine.
Loveland is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Sunday. They breezed by Doherty to the tune of 45-14. The Red Wolves' offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.
Loveland can attribute much of their success to Ryder Eastin, who rushed for 81 yards and three touchdowns on only ten carries, and Deon Christopher, who gained 196 total yards and a touchdown. The dominant performance also gave Christopher a new career-high in rushing yards (153).
Loveland was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 296 rushing yards. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 67.2 rushing yards per game earlier this season, but in their last five games they've averaged 252.2.
Loveland didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off four passes before the game was over. Jaxx Sare led the group effort, picking up two of those interceptions all by himself.
Meanwhile, Dakota Ridge got themselves on the board against Bear Creek two weeks ago, but Bear Creek never followed suit. They really took it to the Bears for the full four quarters, racking up a 51-0 win. The contest marked the Eagles' most dominant victory of the season.
Dakota Ridge's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Landon Kalsbeck, who gained 130 total yards and two touchdowns, and Kellen Behrendsen, who threw for 182 yards and three touchdowns while completing 76.5% of his passes. Another player making a difference was Landen Stubblefield, who picked up eight receiving yards and a touchdown.
Dakota Ridge's win was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 9-1. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 43.0 points per game. As for Loveland, their record is now 5-6.
Loveland strolled past Dakota Ridge in their previous meeting back in November of 2022 by a score of 35-21. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Dakota Ridge's Noah Triplett, who rushed for 180 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 7.5 yards per carry. Now that he won't be playing on Saturday, will it be easier for Loveland to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
