Medicine Lodge was the 21-20 winner over Sterling when they last played one another back in September of 2023, but their luck changed this time around. The Medicine Lodge Indians fell 33-26 to the Sterling Black Bears on Friday. While the Indians had to settle for second, they closed the game well in the third quarter, where they outscored the Black Bears 12-7.
Medicine Lodge lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Keveon Ruiz, who rushed for 71 yards and two touchdowns, and also threw for 129 yards and a touchdown. Ruiz didn't just play on offense: he also made two total tackles and defended two passes. A healthy portion of that aerial production (94 yards to be exact) went to Durham Nittler.
Medicine Lodge didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Nittler and Jack Schreiner. Zayne Keller was another major factor on D, making 17 total tackles (3.0 for loss).
Sterling got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Zane Farney out in front who rushed for 133 yards and two touchdowns, and also picked up 55 receiving yards and a touchdown. Farney's rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his fourth straight game with at least 133 rushing yards dating back to last season. Another player making a difference was Wyatt Newberry, who rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown on only ten carries.
This is the second loss in a row for Medicine Lodge and nudges their season record down to 2-2-1. As for Sterling, they now have a winning record of 3-2.
Medicine Lodge will venture away from home to face off against South Sumner [Caldwell/South Haven] at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Medicine Lodge is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 36.5 points per game this season. As for Sterling, they will host Conway Springs at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Conway Springs comes in on five and Sterling on three.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
