The Venice Indians will challenge the Northwestern Bulls at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are strolling into their games after big wins in their previous games.
Venice is looking to give their home crowd another W after opening their season at home on Friday. They put the hurt on Tampa Bay Tech with a sharp 63-40 victory. The score was close at the half, but the Indians pulled away in the second half with 35 points.
Venice's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Jamarice (GATA) Wilder, who rushed for 145 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 7.6 yards per carry. Winston Watkins Jr. was another key pass catcher, picking up 157 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
Another reason for the win was Venice's imposing defensive line, which managed to get into the backfield for four sacks. Kane Judson was especially locked on to Tampa Bay Tech's QB and sacked him twice. Landon Marsters was another major factor on D, making 21 total tackles (3.0 for loss).
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Venice was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 243 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 204 rushing yards in four consecutive matchups dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Northwestern had to kick off their season on the road on Thursday, but they showed no ill effects. They blew past Coconut Creek 45-0 on the road.
Leon Strawder was a one-man wrecking crew for Northwestern as he threw for 231 yards and seven touchdowns while picking up 10.5 yards per attempt. The team also got some help courtesy of Daruis Johnson, who picked up 145 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Venice strolled past Northwestern when the teams last played back in September of 2023 by a score of 63-46. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Northwestern's Calvin Russell, who rushed for 94 yards and two touchdowns on only nine carries. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Venice still be able to contain Russell? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
