The Mechanicsburg Wildcats will head out to challenge the Red Land Patriots at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Mechanicsburg has eight straight victories, Red Land has eight straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Mechanicsburg is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They breezed by Gettysburg on the road to the tune of 48-20 on Friday. The Wildcats' offense checked out after the first half but had enough points banked to take the game anyway.
It was another big night for Isaac Dollman, who rushed for 145 yards and three touchdowns, and also caught a touchdown. The bulk of those rushing yards came from one huge play: a run that gained an incredible 74 yards. Another player making a difference was Eli Reider, who threw for 122 yards and three touchdowns on perfect 5-for-5 passing.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Mechanicsburg was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 242 rushing yards. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved they're rushing yard total in three consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, Red Land lost 34-14 to Northern York on Friday.
Red Land might have lost, but man, Brady Seyler was a machine: he rushed for 175 yards and a touchdown while picking up 8.3 yards per carry, and also picked up 44 receiving yards and a touchdown. The dominant performance gave Seyler a new career-high in rushing yards.
Mechanicsburg's win bumped their record up to 5-0. As for Red Land, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-5.
Friday's game might be decided in the trenches. Mechanicsburg has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 181.4 rushing yards per game. It's a different story for Red Land, though, as they've been averaging only 92.8. How will they fare against such a dominant running game?
Mechanicsburg strolled past Red Land when the teams last played back in September of 2023 by a score of 49-30. The rematch might be a little tougher for Mechanicsburg 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
