The Western Wildcats will head out on the road to face off against the Columbus Explorers at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Western comes in on six and Columbus on three.
Western had already proven themselves in the regular season, and didn't miss a beat now that it's playoff time. They came out on top against Palmetto by a score of 19-9 on Friday.
Western can attribute much of their success to Koby Howard, who rushed for 57 yards and two touchdowns on only five carries, and also picked up 80 receiving yards. The team also got some help courtesy of Davi Belfort, who rushed for 43 yards and a touchdown.
Western's defense stepped up as well, laying out the QB 6.5 times. Julian Mendez was especially locked on to Palmetto's QB and sacked him three times.
Meanwhile, Columbus' offense rose to the challenge against a Buccaneers defense that boasted an average of only 17.83 points allowed. Columbus strolled past South Dade with points to spare on Friday, taking the game 34-20. Given Columbus' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida football rankings (they are ranked 28th, while South Dade is ranked 90th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Columbus to victory, but perhaps none more so than Alberto Mendoza, who threw for 166 yards and two touchdowns. Another player making a difference was Edward Bandy, who rushed for 78 yards and a touchdown.
Western has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine games, which provided a nice bump to their 9-3 record this season. As for Columbus, their victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-2.
Western ended up a good deal behind Columbus in their previous meeting back in November of 2021, losing 27-8. Can Western avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
