The Ripley Vikings will play host again on Friday to welcome the Nitro Wildcats, where kickoff is scheduled at 7:00 p.m. Both have allowed few points on average, (Ripley: 14.8, Nitro: 13.4) so any points scored will be well earned.
Ripley will bounce into Friday's game after beating Point Pleasant, who they hadn't topped in seven consecutive meetings. Ripley came out on top against Point Pleasant by a score of 28-21 last Friday. While the Vikings didn't have the best season last year (they finished 1-9), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
Ripley had a senior duo take command as Chris Jenkins picked up 116 receiving yards and a touchdown and Tyson Pritt threw for 201 yards and a touchdown on only 17 passes. Noah Casto also helped with two touchdowns in total.
Meanwhile, everything came up roses for Nitro at home against Wayne on Friday as the team secured a 52-6 win. The match marked the Wildcats' most dominant victory of the season so far.
A big part of Nitro's win came down to the chemistry between Josh Moody and his top target Malachi Thompson. Moody threw for 366 yards and four touchdowns while completing 78.6% of his passes while Thompson picked up 182 receiving yards and two touchdowns. With that strong performance, Moody is now averaging an impressive 309 passing yards per game.
Ripley's victory bumped their record up to 4-0. As for Nitro, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 4-1.
The upcoming matchup will be a clash of competing strengths. Ripley has deployed a run-first offense that has averaged 213 rushing yards a game. Meanwhile, Nitro has preferred to attack from the air: they average 314 passing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Friday? There's only one way to find out.
Everything came up roses for Ripley against Nitro in their previous matchup back in October of 2015, as the squad secured a 34-0 victory. Does Ripley have another victory up their sleeve, or will Nitro turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
