Wharton hasn't had much luck against Columbia recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Wharton Tigers will face off against the Columbia Roughnecks at 7:00 p.m. Wharton will be hoping to continue their three-game streak of scoring more points each contest than the last.
Wharton is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They simply couldn't be stopped on Friday as they easily beat Hempstead 55-10 on the road.
Ja'Keon Jackson was his usual excellent self, rushing for 122 yards and three touchdowns on only 11 carries, while also throwing for 179 yards and four touchdowns. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in rushing yards. Ja'Carious Wiley also helped with two touchdowns in total.
Meanwhile, Columbia posted their biggest win since October 6, 2023 on Friday. They were the clear victor by a 46-21 margin over Yoakum.
It was another big night for Mudassir Abdullah, who rushed for 150 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 7.9 yards per carry, and also picked up 52 receiving yards.incredibly, Abdullah got all that yardage with just one huge grab Another player making a difference was Korbyn Faulkner, who rushed for 105 yards on only five carries.
Columbia wouldn't let Yoakum keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force three fumbles. Columbia can thank Braden Gilliam and Grant Thrasher for forcing all of them. Thrasher also set a new season high mark in rushing yards with 168.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Columbia was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 453 rushing yards. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved they're rushing yard total in three consecutive matchups.
Wharton's victory ended a five-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 2-2. As for Columbia, the win also got them back to even at 2-2.
Friday's match might be decided in the on the ground. Wharton has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 163.8 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Columbia struggles in that department as they've been averaging 286.5. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Wharton was dealt a bruising 55-0 loss at the hands of Columbia in their previous meeting back in October of 2023. Thankfully for Wharton, Trevon Lewis (who rushed for 112 yards and a touchdown on only eight carries) 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
