The Elida Bulldogs will head out to take on the Van Wert Cougars at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Elida has struggled recently with three losses in a row, while Van Wert will arrive with three straight victories.
Elida is headed into the contest out to prove that what happened against Memorial on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Elida came up short against Memorial, falling 52-31. While losing is never fun, the Bulldogs can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Ohio football rankings (they are ranked 369th, while the Roughriders are ranked 80th).
Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Van Wert took on Kenton on Friday. Van Wert slipped by Kenton 45-44.
Briston Wise was his usual excellent self, rushing for 140 yards and three touchdowns, while also throwing for 250 yards and two touchdowns. His rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his ninth straight game with at least 106 rushing yards dating back to last season. Xavier Kelly was Wise's top target, rushing for 83 yards and a touchdown on only 11 carries, while also picking up 55 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Van Wert wouldn't let Kenton keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Aaron Reichert was the leader in that area as all came courtesy of his dominant performance. He also set a new season high mark in total tackles with 13.
Elida's defeat dropped their record down to 2-8. As for Van Wert, their win bumped their record up to 4-5.
Elida suffered a grim 35-14 defeat to Van Wert in their previous matchup back in October of 2023. Thankfully for Elida, Brylen Parker (who rushed for 103 yards and three touchdowns, and also threw for 162 yards and a touchdown) 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
