Two dominant signal callers in Leon Strawder and Timothy Cole are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Northwestern Bulls will face off against the Raines Vikings at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Northwestern sitting on nine straight victories and Raines on 13.
Northwestern is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They really took it to Eau Gallie for the full four quarters, racking up a 40-0 win. The Bulls might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won nine matches by 35 points or more this season.
Leon Strawder
| 12/06/24 @ Eau Gallie | 4 |
| 11/29/24 vs Cypress Lake | 4 |
| 11/22/24 vs Lely | 4 |
| 11/15/24 vs Barron Collier | 4 |
| 10/25/24 vs St. Brendan | 4 |
Strawder was his usual excellent self, throwing for 290 yards and four touchdowns while completing 79.2% of his passes. He has been hot, having posted four or more passing touchdowns the last five times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Nicholas Lennear, who picked up 91 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Raines didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Booker on Friday, but they still walked away with a 28-23 victory. The 28-point effort marked the Vikings' lowest-scoring contest of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.
Northwestern better keep an eye on Cole. He was instrumental in Raines' win, throwing for 192 yards and four touchdowns, while also rushing for 162 yards on only 13 carries. The dominant performance gave Cole a new career-high in rushing yards. Adron Walker was another key player, picking up 62 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Raines was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 211 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 162 rushing yards in three consecutive matchups.
Raines pushed their record up to 13-0 with the win, which was their eighth straight at home. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 30.5 points. As for Northwestern, their victory bumped their record up to 11-2.
Saturday's game might be decided in the on the ground. Northwestern has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 161.1 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Raines struggles in that department as they've been averaging 164.2 rushing yards. It's looking like Saturday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Northwestern won a match that couldn't have been any closer in their previous meeting back in September of 2014, slipping by Raines 8-7. Does Northwestern have another victory up their sleeve, or will Raines turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
