If DeRidder was riding high fresh off their 42-22 takedown of Washington-Marion last Friday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The DeRidder Dragons took a blow against the Iowa Yellowjackets on Thursday, falling 42-14. While losing is never fun, the Dragons can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Louisiana football rankings (they are ranked 137th, while the Yellowjackets are ranked 31st).
When it comes to explaining why DeRidder lost, don't look at Connor Rushford. Despite the final result, he rushed for 132 yards and a touchdown. DeRidder is 2-1 when Rushford posts 100 or more rushing yards, but 3-4 otherwise. DeRidder also got a significant boost from Reed Williams, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 81 yards.
Even though they lost, DeRidder was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 200 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 200 rushing yards in five consecutive matches.
A big part of Iowa's win came down to the chemistry between Reed Dupre and his top target Jeremiah Bushnell. Dupre threw for 264 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 13.2 yards per attempt while Bushnell picked up 179 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Bushnell's longest reception was for an incredible 85 yards.
DeRidder's defeat dropped their record down to 5-5. As for Iowa, the victory was the eighth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 9-1.
Both are set to take part in some playoff action in their next matches. DeRidder will head out to take on Northwest at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Northwest's defense has only allowed 13.8 points per game this season, so DeRidder's offense will have their work cut out for them. As for Iowa, they will host LaGrange at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Iowa will be looking to keep their ten-game home win streak dating back to last season alive.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
