The Howard Wildcats will head out to take on the Odessa Ducks at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Howard is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 27.6 points per game this season.
Odessa is hoping to do what Newark couldn't on Thursday: put an end to Howard's winning streak, which now stands at three games. Howard took their game on the road with ease, bagging a 46-0 victory over Newark. The score at the end of the third wound up being the final score as the Wildcats just coasted through the last quarter.
Xavier Grier had a dynamite game for Howard, rushing for 77 yards and two touchdowns on only six carries.
Howard didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Julian Cooper and Robert Weightman.
Meanwhile, Odessa faced Wilmington Friends in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Thursday. Odessa fell 29-20 to Wilmington Friends.
Despite the loss, Odessa had strong showings from Isaiah Melton, who rushed for 110 yards and three touchdowns on only 12 carries, and Chase Belin, who rushed for 208 yards while picking up 9.0 yards per carry. Melton has become a key player for Odessa: the team is 2-1 when he posts at least two rushing touchdowns, but 0-3 otherwise.
Even though they lost, Odessa was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 318 rushing yards. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 71.7 rushing yards per game earlier this season, but in their last three matchups they've averaged 242.
The win got Howard back to even at 3-3. As for Odessa, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-4.
Friday's match might be decided in the on the ground. Howard has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 188.2 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Odessa struggles in that department as they've been averaging 156.8. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Howard didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Odessa when the teams last played back in October of 2023, but they still walked away with a 30-25 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Howard since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
