Two dominant backs in Elliott Acree and Aian Fryman are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Mt. Carmel Golden Aces will square off against the Sullivan-Okaw Valley/Bethany Redskins at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Mt. Carmel is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 26.9 points per game this season.
Sullivan-Okaw Valley/Bethany better have a healthy lead at halftime, because if last week is any indication, that's when Mt. Carmel really get things going. Mt. Carmel was the clear victor by a 42-16 margin over Lawrenceville on Thursday. The Golden Aces might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four matches by 22 points or more this season.
Mt. Carmel found their leader in sophomore Shain Meador, who rushed for 92 yards and a touchdown on only 11 carries. Acree was in the mix as well, providing Mt. Carmel with two touchdowns.
Mt. Carmel didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Xander Bader and Acree. Acree also punched in two rushing touchdowns, which is notable because Mt. Carmel is 4-1 when he posts at least two rushing touchdowns, but 1-3 otherwise.
Mt. Carmel was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 288 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 212 rushing yards in eight consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Sullivan-Okaw Valley/Bethany put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They walked away with a 19-7 victory over Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond. The score was all tied up 7-7 at the break, but the Redskins were the (much) better team in the second half.
It was another big night for Cooper Christensen, who rushed for 99 yards and a touchdown, and also threw for 73 yards and a touchdown while completing 72.7% of his passes. That's the most rushing yards he has posted since back in October of 2023.
Mt. Carmel now has a winning record of 5-4. As for Sullivan-Okaw Valley/Bethany, they pushed their record up to 9-0 with the win, which was their tenth straight at home dating back to last season.
Saturday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Mt. Carmel has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 286.7 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Sullivan-Okaw Valley/Bethany struggles in that department as they've been averaging 286.7. It's looking like Saturday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Mt. Carmel took their victory against Sullivan-Okaw Valley/Bethany when the teams last played back in November of 2023 by a conclusive 42-21. The rematch might be a little tougher for Mt. Carmel since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
