Two dominant backs in Quin Oberg and Elijah Bergstrom are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Elm Creek Buffaloes will be playing in front of their home fans against the Axtell Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Elm Creek is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 34.2 points per game this season.
Elm Creek is headed into the match out to prove that what happened against Kenesaw on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Elm Creek came up short against Kenesaw, falling 50-25.
Despite the defeat, Elm Creek got top-tier performance from Oberg, who rushed for 225 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 10.2 yards per carry. Oberg really tore up the turf during one magnificent 76-yard run. The team also got some help courtesy of Keston Beavers, who rushed for 96 yards and a touchdown on only 11 carries.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Elm Creek was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 317 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 219 rushing yards in four consecutive games.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Axtell). They enjoyed a cozy 62-46 victory over Blue Hill on Friday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Wildcats.
Axtell had a senior duo take command as Bergstrom gained 261 total yards and five touchdowns and Jacob Halvorsen rushed for 140 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 8.8 yards per carry. With that strong performance, Bergstrom is now averaging an impressive 2.2 rushing touchdowns per game.
Elm Creek's loss dropped their record down to 2-4. As for Axtell, their win bumped their record up to an identical 2-4.
Friday's contest might be decided in the on the ground. Elm Creek has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 224.8 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Axtell struggles in that department as they've been averaging 272.5. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Elm Creek suffered a grim 62-37 defeat to Axtell in their previous matchup back in October of 2015. Thankfully for Elm Creek, Cody Nickel (who rushed for 341 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 11.0 yards per carry) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
