The Mattoon Greenwave are taking a road trip to challenge the Taylorville Tornadoes at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Mattoon has given up an average of 25.6 points per game this season, but Friday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Mattoon is headed into Friday's contest looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their third straight games on Friday. They were two points away from ending the streak, but they lost a 37-35 heartbreaker at the hands of Charleston. Even if the Greenwave couldn't come away with the win, the high-scoring effort was a great turnaround for their offense, which had struggled int the games prior.
Despite the loss, Mattoon got top-tier performance from Brayden Hackett, who threw for 298 yards and two touchdowns, and also rushed for 54 yards and a pair of TDs.
Meanwhile, Taylorville was not the first on the board on Friday, but they got there more often. They walked away with a 28-21 victory over Effingham. The game was the first time the Tornadoes have beaten the Hearts on their field since August 31, 2018.
Taylorville's win came from a few key players Mattoon will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Isaac Repscher, who threw for 204 yards and two touchdowns, and also rushed for 66 yards. Taylorville's leading receiver Wyatt Younker was Repscher's top target yet again, picking up 141 receiving yards and one score.
The win was their first on the road , bumping their record up to 2-3. As for Mattoon, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-4.
Things could have been worse for Mattoon, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 21-7 loss to Taylorville when the teams last played back in October of 2024. Thankfully for the Greenwave, Baron Odam (who rushed for 68 yards and a pair of TDs, and also threw for 92 yards and one touchdown) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
