After both having extra time off, the Valdosta Wildcats and the Walton Raiders will shake off the cobwebs and face off against one another at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Valdosta is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 32.4 points per game this season.
Valdosta is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Georgia's top teams: Lowndes, who was ranked seventh in their home state at the time (Valdosta was ranked 18th). Valdosta fell 30-20 to Lowndes last Friday.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Todd Robinson, who rushed for 65 yards and a touchdown, and also threw for 202 yards and a touchdown. A healthy portion of that aerial production (84 yards to be exact) went to Prince Jean, who also brought in a receiving touchdown.
Even if they lost, Valdosta's defense still kept up the pressure with six sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Kobi Brown and Zamarion Williams, who racked up four sacks between them. Williams also set a new season high mark in total tackles with 12. Valdosta got some further help from Marcus Williams: he picked up 1.5 sacks and made ten total tackles (5.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, Walton entered their tilt with North Paulding back in October with three consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with four. Everything went their way against the Wolfpack as they made off with a 42-20 win. Considering the Raiders have won four matches by more than 21 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Walton's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Kaeden Gilstrap, who rushed for 88 yards and a touchdown on only 12 carries, and also threw for 138 yards and two touchdowns while completing 73.3% of his passes. Another player making a difference was Noriega Thompson, who rushed for 88 yards and two touchdowns on only nine carries.
Walton wouldn't let North Paulding keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Walton can thank Drake Luckie and Ethan Stannard for forcing both of them. Stannard is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made five or more in the last 14 games he's played dating back to last season. Another thorn in North Paulding's side was Hudson Beard, who made 14 total tackles and snagged an interception.
Walton was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 233 rushing yards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as North Paulding only rushed for 125.
Walton has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 7-3 record this season. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 31.7 points per game. As for Valdosta, their loss dropped their record down to 8-2.
Friday's contest might be decided in the on the ground. Valdosta has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 196 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Walton struggles in that department as they've been averaging 173.9. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
