The Liberal Redskins's homestand will continue as they prepare to take on the Great Bend Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have allowed few points on average, (Liberal: 10.2, Great Bend: 13.4) so any points scored will be well earned.
Liberal will bounce into Friday's contest after beating Garden City, who they hadn't topped in nine consecutive meetings. Liberal enjoyed a cozy 23-6 win over Garden City on Friday.
It was another big night for Xavier Porras, who rushed for 208 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 11.6 yards per carry. He really tore up the turf during one magnificent 96-yard run. James Fieser did his part to keep the secondary busy, picking up 109 receiving yards.
Liberal was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 202 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 170 rushing yards in five consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, Great Bend put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They took down Dodge City 28-14.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Great Bend to victory, but perhaps none more so than Daxton Minton, who threw for 180 yards and two touchdowns while completing 83.3% of his passes, and also rushed for 86 yards on only nine carries. Ian Premer was Minton's top target, rushing for 67 yards and a touchdown on only six carries.
Another reason for the win was Great Bend's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for four sacks. Aidan Davidson was particularly dangerous to the passing game, picking up threehimself. Those three sacks set a new season-high mark for him. Great Bend got some further help from Trenton Kern: he picked up a sack and made 12 total tackles.
Liberal's victory bumped their record up to 4-1. As for Great Bend, their win bumped their record up to 5-0.
Friday's match might be decided in the on the ground. Liberal has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 262.2 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Great Bend struggles in that department as they've been averaging 167.4. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Liberal was able to grind out a solid victory over Great Bend in their previous matchup back in October of 2023, winning 21-14. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Minton, who rushed for 76 yards and a touchdown on only ten carries, and also threw for 112 yards and a touchdown. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Liberal still be able to contain Minton? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
