Columbus is on a four-game streak of home wins, while Western is on a four-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Columbus Explorers will take on the Western Wildcats at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams have allowed few points on average, (Columbus: 10.8, Western: 11.2) so any points scored will be well earned.
Two teams were on the hunt for playoff glory, but only Columbus walked away with it. They strolled past the Buccaneers with points to spare on Friday, taking the game 34-20. Columbus' win was all the more impressive since South Dade was averaging only 17.83 points allowed on the season.
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.
Columbus' defense stepped up as well, laying out the QB five times. In fact, those sacks all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Willis McGahee IV.
Meanwhile, Western was able to grind out a solid win over Palmetto on Friday, taking the game 19-9.
Koby Howard was the offensive standout of the match as he 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.
Columbus' victory bumped their record up to 10-2. As for Western, they are on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine contests, which provided a nice bump to their 9-3 record this season.
Columbus strolled past Western when the teams last played back in November of 2021 by a score of 27-8. Will Columbus repeat their success, or does Western have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
