Two dominant backs in Mason Martin and Kaden Brink are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Atkins Red Devils are taking a road trip to square off against the Salem Greyhounds at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Atkins is headed into the matchup after thoroughly thrashing Mountain View: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that the Red Devils blew the Yellowjackets out of the water with a 43-0 final score. The game was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point the Red Devils had established a 36-point advantage.
Cole Crawford was his usual excellent self, throwing for 186 yards and three touchdowns while completing 76.9% of his passes, and also punching in one TD on the ground.
Atkins didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Tanner Hegeman and Jaxson Koenigseder. Another thorn in Mountain View's side was John Davis, who picked up three sacks and made eight total tackles.
Meanwhile, Salem put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They breezed past Episcopal to the tune of 69-12. The final result isn't all that surprising considering the Greyhounds' considerable advantage in MaxPreps' Arkansas football rankings (they are ranked 34th, while the Wildcats are ranked 188th).
Salem's win came from a few key players Atkins will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Cole Stemen, who rushed for 35 yards and one score, and also picked up 30 receiving yards and one touchdown. Those 35 rushing yards gave him a new career-high. Colton Smith was in the mix as well, providing Salem with two TDs.
Salem was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 397 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Atkins' record is now 5-0. As for Salem, their record now sits at an identical 5-0.
Atkins didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Salem in their previous matchup back in October of 2024, but they still walked away with a 40-36 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Red Devils since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
