The Manistee Chippewas will look to defend their home field on Friday against the Montague Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both will really light up the scoreboard.
Manistee is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They took their matchup at home on Friday with ease, bagging a 62-14 win over Shelby. The result was nothing new for the Chippewas, who have now won three contests by 35 points or more so far this season.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Manistee was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 366 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 163 rushing yards in 13 consecutive games dating back to last season.
Manistee wouldn't let Shelby keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Manistee can thank Landin Sowa and Ean Guenthardt for forcing both of them. Sowa also punched in two rushing touchdowns, which is notable because Manistee is undefeated when he posts at least two rushing touchdowns, but 1-3 otherwise.
Meanwhile, Montague had to endure a three-game losing streak, but that streak is no more. They secured a 70-64 W over Fremont on Friday. With that victory, the Wildcats brought their scoring average up to 27.9 points per game.
It was another big night for Devlin Dean, who rushed for 335 yards and five touchdowns while picking up 8.6 yards per carry. He was no stranger to the big play, taking off on a dash that went for 69 yards. Cooper Bradley got in on the action as well, returning a kick for a touchdown.
Manistee now has a winning record of 4-3. As for Montague, their win bumped their record up to 3-4.
Friday's match might be decided in the on the ground. Manistee has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 291.6 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Montague struggles in that department as they've been averaging 194. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Manistee couldn't quite finish off Montague in their previous matchup back in October of 2023 and fell 24-22. Thankfully for Manistee, Adam Baird (who rushed for 201 yards and three touchdowns) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
