Atkins has been on the road for two straight, but on Friday they'll finally head home. They will host the Salem Greyhounds at 7:00 p.m. The two teams are strolling into their games after big wins in their previous games.
Atkins' defense heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They took their matchup on the road with ease, bagging a 42-0 victory over Mountain View.
Atkins relied on the efforts of Jaden Martin, who gained 174 total yards and two touchdowns, and Mason Martin, who rushed for 58 yards on only seven carries. Jaden also put in work on the defensive side of the ball, picking up a sack and making two total tackles.
On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Atkins' defense and their four sacks. Mountain View's QB won't forget John Davis anytime soon given he sacked him twice. Davis is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made five or more in the last 15 games he's played dating back to last season.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Atkins was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 215 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 208 rushing yards in five consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Salem). They blew past Episcopal, posting a 49-0 win at home. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest victory of the season.
The critical scores for Salem came from Jackson Taylor, Aiden Province, Skyler Payne, Colton Smith, Caleb Leisenring, Jaykob Dawson, and Kaiden Hollis.
Atkins' win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 4-1. As for Salem, they now have a winning record of 3-2.
Friday's game might be decided in the on the ground. Atkins has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 242 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Salem struggles in that department as they've been averaging 275. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Atkins was taken down by Salem 56-14 when the teams last played back in September of 2023. Thankfully for Atkins, Elijah Romine (who rushed for 245 yards and three touchdowns on only 15 carries) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
