Westlake has been away from home for two games now, but on Friday they'll finally make their return. They will host the DeRidder Dragons at 7:00 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Last Thursday, Westlake took their game on the road with ease, bagging a 42-14 victory over Washington-Marion. Fans of the Rams have seen this all before: every one of the games they've played this season has ended in a blowout of 20+ points.
Ryan Allen was a one-man wrecking crew for Westlake as he picked up 144 receiving yards and two touchdowns, and also rushed for 131 yards and a touchdown on only eight carries. Allen torched the secondary when he pulled down a catch that went for 80 yards. Kevin Rideau Jr was another key player, rushing for 54 yards and a touchdown.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Westlake was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 343 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 221 rushing yards in three consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, DeRidder beat Newton 46-36 on Friday. Given the Dragons' advantage in MaxPreps' football rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 99th in Louisiana, while the Eagles are ranked 361st in Texas), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Connor Rushford was nothing short of spectacular: he rushed for 188 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 11.1 yards per carry. The team also got some help courtesy of Reed Williams, who rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown on only 13 carries.
Westlake's win bumped their record up to 3-0. As for DeRidder, they now have a winning record of 2-1.
Friday's match might be decided in the on the ground. Westlake has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 280.7 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like DeRidder struggles in that department as they've been averaging 279.7. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Westlake took a serious blow against DeRidder when the teams last played back in September of 2023, falling 27-0. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of DeRidder's Javaughn Fairley, who rushed for 269 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 12.2 yards per carry. Now that Westlake knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
