The Millard North Mustangs will square off against the Kearney Bearcats at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both will really light up the scoreboard.
Last Friday, Millard North was fully in charge, breezing past Lincoln East 55-28 on the road. Considering the Mustangs have won three games by more than 22 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Millard North was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 285 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in October of 2023.
Meanwhile, Kearney entered their tilt with Papillion-LaVista South on Friday with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. They enjoyed a cozy 31-14 win over the Titans.
Griffin Novacek had a dynamite game for Kearney, throwing for 227 yards and two touchdowns on only 17 passes, while also rushing for 110 yards. Josh Dolence was Novacek's top target, picking up 156 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Kearney didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Ryan Whalen and John Florrel. Kearney got some further help from Sawyer Schilke: he picked up a sack and made 18 total tackles (2.0 for loss).
Millard North pushed their record up to 4-2 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road. As for Kearney, their win bumped their record up to 5-1.
Friday's contest might be decided in the on the ground. Millard North has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 187.5 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Kearney struggles in that department as they've been averaging 151.7. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Millard North was taken down by Kearney 42-0 in their previous meeting back in September of 2017. Thankfully for Millard North, Kanon Koster (who threw for 211 yards and three touchdowns on only 15 passes, and also rushed for 61 yards and a touchdown on only seven carries) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
