The Nitro Wildcats will face off against the Wayne Pioneers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Nitro's defense has only allowed 15.2 points per game this season, so Wayne's offense will have their work cut out for them.
Nitro will bounce into Friday's game after beating Chapmanville Regional, who they hadn't topped in eight consecutive meetings. Nitro walked away with a 34-21 win over Chapmanville Regional on Friday. The high-flying offensive performance was a huge turnaround for the Wildcats considering their seven-point performance the matchup before.
Josh Moody was his usual excellent self, throwing for 299 yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing for 31 yards. Malachi Thompson was Moody's top target, picking up 96 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Nitro's defense and their three sacks. In that department, Tucker Emswiler was the leader with two. Nitro got some further help from Wyatt Sowards: he made 16 total tackles (2.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, Wayne won against Scott on September 6th with 26 points and they decided to stick to that point total again on Friday. Wayne came out on top against Winfield by a score of 26-14. The victory was just business as usual for the Pioneers, who after three games remain undefeated this season.
Jayden Wayman went supernova for Wayne, rushing for 137 yards and a touchdown on only seven carries. Wayman is crushing it when it comes to rushing yards: he's rushed for at least 106 every time he's taken the field this season. Ronnie Staley was another key player, rushing for 77 yards and a touchdown on only ten carries.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Wayne was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 305 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 204 rushing yards in 11 consecutive matches dating back to last season.
Nitro's win bumped their record up to 3-1. As for Wayne, their victory bumped their record up to 3-0.
The upcoming contest will be a clash of competing strengths. Nitro has relied on air attacks this season and has averaged 301 passing yards per game. Wayne, on the other hand, has relied on a stout run game: they average 253.7 rushing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Friday? There's only one way to find out.
Nitro beat Wayne 33-21 in their previous matchup back in September of 2023. Will Nitro repeat their success, or does Wayne have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
