The Shade Panthers will wrap up 2023 with a road trip to face off against the Richland Rams at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Shade has struggled recently with six losses in a row, while Richland will arrive with three straight victories.
It's never fun to lose, and it's even less fun to lose 62-30, which was the final score in Shade's tilt against Ferndale on Wednesday.
Even though Richland has not done well against Bedford recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way on Friday. Richland blew past Bedford 50-20 at home. That looming 50-20 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for Richland yet this season.
Shade's loss was their third straight at home, which bumped their record down to 0-5. As for Richland, the win got them back to even at 4-4.
Shade took a serious blow against Richland when the teams last played back in December of 2022, falling 63-36. The match was all but decided by halftime, at which point Shade was down 34-11.
