Salem was the 27-26 winner over Columbia when they last played one another back in October of 2023, but their luck changed this time around. The Salem Wildcats were outmatched by the Columbia Eagles on the road and fell 38-8. While losing is never fun, the Wildcats can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois football rankings (they are ranked 318th, while the Eagles are ranked 135th).
When it comes to explaining why Salem lost on Friday, don't look at Miking Ettress. Despite the final result, he picked up 165 receiving yards and a touchdown. Ettress' longest reception was for an incredible 74 yards.
Salem wouldn't let Columbia keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Salem can thank Ricardo Salgado and Kolsyn Quinn for forcing both of them.
Jase Nelson was his usual excellent self, rushing for 173 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 8.7 yards per carry for Columbia. Those 173 rushing yards gave Nelson a new career-high.
Salem is on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 1-6. As for Columbia, the victory (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 5-2.
Salem will take on Freeburg at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. As for Columbia, they will head out to challenge Breese Central at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Breese Central knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 31 points or more in their past six contests -- so hopefully Columbia likes a good challenge.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
