Eastmont and Moses Lake are an even 5-5 against one another since October of 2014, but not for long. The Eastmont Wildcats will take on the Moses Lake Mavericks at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Eastmont sitting on four straight wins and Moses Lake on five.
Last Friday, Eastmont didn't have too much trouble with Eisenhower at home as they won 33-14. That 19 point margin sets a new team best for the Wildcats this season.
Eastmont found their leader in underclassman Austin Zelinski, who rushed for 139 yards and two touchdowns on only five carries. Zelinski got the majority of those rushing yards when he took off on a run that went for an incredible 73 yards.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Eastmont 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 160 rushing yards in 16 consecutive contests dating back to last season.
Eastmont's defense made their presence known, laying out the QB four times. Adrian Rodriguez was especially locked on to Eisenhower's QB and sacked him twice. Rodriguez also set a new season high mark in total tackles with eight.
Meanwhile, Moses Lake is ranked highly in their home state and on Friday they took on another highly ranked team in the form of Post Falls. Moses Lake simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Post Falls 69-20 at home. The result was nothing new for the Mavericks, who have now won three games by 21 points or more so far this season.
Brady Jay was his usual excellent self, throwing for 434 yards and six touchdowns, while also rushing for 30 yards and two touchdowns. He is on a roll when it comes to passing touchdowns, as he's now passed for three or more in the last five games he's played. Elijah Burns was another key player, gaining 226 total yards and a touchdown.
Moses Lake wouldn't let Post Falls keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force four fumbles. It was truly a group effort as Connor Reed, John Rainey, Carter Anderson, and Grant Smith picked up one apiece. With that strong performance, Smith is now averaging an impressive 100.8 receiving yards per game.
Eastmont's record now sits at 5-1. As for Moses Lake, their victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 5-1.
Friday's match might be decided in the trenches. Eastmont has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 260.8 rushing yards per game. It's a different story for Moses Lake, though, as they've been averaging only 96.3. How will they fare against such a dominant running game?
Everything came up roses for Eastmont against Moses Lake when the teams last played back in October of 2023, as the squad secured a 35-8 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Eastmont 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
