Two dominant signal callers in Joshua Smith and Caleb Simco are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The White Oak Vikings will take on the Richlands Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Richlands is hoping to do what Dixon couldn't on Friday: put an end to White Oak's winning streak, which now stands at six games. White Oak blew past Dixon 44-14 at home. With the Vikings ahead 30-7 at the half, the game was all but over already.
Smith continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, throwing for 133 yards and two touchdowns while completing 72.7% of his passes, and also rushing for 32 yards.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: White Oak was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 340 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 198 rushing yards in 19 consecutive contests dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Richlands). They really took it to West Carteret for the full four quarters, racking up a 61-27 victory on the road. The win was just business as usual for the Wildcats, who after eight games remain undefeated this season.
Noah Leblanc and Simco were among the main playmakers for Richlands as the former rushed for 152 yards and three touchdowns on only 11 carries and the latter threw for 187 yards and four touchdowns while completing 71.4% of his passes. Those 152 rushing yards gave Leblanc a new career-high. Tyler Clouatre was Simco's top target, picking up 104 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Richlands didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Nate Mummert, Rocco Welsh, and Jo?Nathan Kennon picked up one apiece.
White Oak pushed their record up to 7-1 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. As for Richlands, their win bumped their record up to 8-0.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. White Oak has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 373.2 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Richlands struggles in that department as they've been averaging 228.9. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches.
White Oak was able to grind out a solid victory over Richlands when the teams last played back in October of 2023, winning 33-20. The rematch might be a little tougher for White Oak 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
