West Prairie/Southeastern will venture away from home to square off against the Peoria Heights Patriots at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. West Prairie/Southeastern will be strutting in after a win while Peoria Heights will be coming in after a loss.
West Prairie/Southeastern is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Illinois' top teams: Galva, who was ranked 25th in their home state at the time (West Prairie/Southeastern was ranked 16th). West Prairie/Southeastern claimed a resounding 60-20 victory over Galva at home. The win was some much needed relief for West Prairie/Southeastern as it spelled an end to their seven-game losing streak dating back to last season.
Austin Nelson was his usual excellent self, rushing for 205 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 12.1 yards per carry. Those 205 rushing yards gave him a new career-high. Matt Whitman also helped with two touchdowns in total.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, West Prairie/Southeastern was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 383 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 202 rushing yards in three consecutive matches.
West Prairie/Southeastern didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Whitman and Braden Coplan.
Meanwhile, Friday just wasn't the day for Peoria Heights' offense. They were outmatched by Amboy/LaMoille/Ohio on the road and fell 68-0. While getting shut out isn't ideal, the Patriots haven't been shut out since back in August.
West Prairie/Southeastern's first victory this season bumped their record up to 1-6. As for Peoria Heights, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-5.
Everything came up roses for West Prairie/Southeastern against Peoria Heights in their previous meeting back in September of 2023, as the squad secured a 40-6 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for West Prairie/Southeastern since the team 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
