Garden Plain has gone 3-0 against Haven recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Garden Plain Owls will venture away from home to face off against the Haven Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Garden Plain took a loss when they played away from home last Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. Their defense stepped up to hand Belle Plaine a 56-0 shutout. Given the Owls' advantage in MaxPreps' Kansas football rankings (they are ranked 66th, while the Dragons are ranked 202nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Garden Plain got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Emrick Hays out in front who rushed for 89 yards and two touchdowns on only 11 carries. Hays also put in work on the defensive side of the ball, picking up a sack and making two total tackles (2.0 for loss). Cooper Scheer was in the mix as well, providing Garden Plain with two touchdowns.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Garden Plain was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 312 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 150 rushing yards in 14 consecutive matches dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Haven put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They really took it to Douglass for the full four quarters, racking up a 37-0 win on the road. Fans of the Wildcats have seen this all before: every one of the games they've played this season has ended in a blowout of 20+ points.
Nash Wray was his usual excellent self, rushing for 87 yards and two touchdowns on only ten carries, while also throwing for 168 yards and a touchdown. Another player making a difference was Vance Loop, who rushed for 111 yards and a touchdown.
Haven wouldn't let Douglass keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force three fumbles. Haven can thank Jaxson Wilder and Maddix Finecy for forcing all of them. With that strong performance, Finecy is now averaging an impressive 5.2 total tackles per game.
The victory got Garden Plain back to even at 2-2. As for Haven, their record is now 4-0.
Friday's game might be decided in the on the ground. Garden Plain has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 243.8 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Haven struggles in that department as they've been averaging 259. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Garden Plain took their win against Haven when the teams last played back in September of 2023 by a conclusive 41-19. The rematch might be a little tougher for Garden Plain since the squad 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
