The Southern Choctaw Indians will take on the Linden Patriots at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Southern Choctaw sitting on four straight victories and Linden on three.
While Southern Choctaw didn't have the best season last year (they finished 4-7), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They managed a 14-8 win over Marengo on Friday. The score was all tied up 0-0 at the break, but the Indians were the better team in the second half.
This one was won in the trenches and the lion's share of the credit has to go to Ray Bender and he. Bender rushed for 75 yards and a touchdown while he rushed for 75 yards and a touchdown. Christopher Bush also deserves a shoutout for his performance on D, picking up a sack, forcing a fumble, and forcing a fumble.
Southern Choctaw wouldn't let Marengo keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Southern Choctaw can thank Robert Gaines and Bush for forcing both of them.
Meanwhile, Linden's rock-solid defense showed up for the team's third consecutive shutout on Friday. They blew past Choctaw County 42-0 at home. The Patriots might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four contests by 22 points or more this season.
One reason for the win was Linden's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for seven sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Brent Curtis and Winston Wolf, who racked up five sacks between them. Curtis also set a new season high mark in sacks with three.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Linden was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 306 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 242 rushing yards in six consecutive matches.
Southern Choctaw's victory bumped their record up to 4-0. As for Linden, their win bumped their record up to 4-2.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Southern Choctaw has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 208.5 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Linden struggles in that department as they've been averaging 341.5. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other football content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
