The Dakota Ridge Eagles will square off against the Cherokee Trail Cougars at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both are strolling into their contests after big wins in their previous games.
Dakota Ridge's offense will try to repeat the strong performance it gave on Friday, when they got past Pomona's usually-dominant defense. Everything went Dakota Ridge's way against Pomona as Dakota Ridge made off with a 34-12 victory. That 22 point margin sets a new team best for the Eagles this season.
Landon Kalsbeck was his usual excellent self, rushing for 119 yards and three touchdowns on only 11 carries. He didn't just play on offense: he also forced a fumble and made nine total tackles (1.0 for loss). Another rusher making a difference was Sam Callas, who gained 69 total yards and a touchdown.
Dakota Ridge wouldn't let Pomona keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force three fumbles. It was truly a group effort as Kalsbeck, Jack Offerdahl, and Offerdahl picked up one apiece. Kalsbeck's rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his third straight game with at least 118 rushing yards. Blake Bishop was another major factor on D, making three total tackles (1.0 for loss) and defending a pass in addition to snagging an interception which he returned one-yard for a touchdown.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Dakota Ridge was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 242 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 242 rushing yards in three consecutive games.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Cherokee Trail). They simply couldn't be stopped on Friday as they easily beat Rocky Mountain 37-6 at home. The high-scoring effort was just what the Cougars needed considering they were shutout in their previous match.
Cherokee Trail had a senior duo take command as Tyson Smith threw for 190 yards and two touchdowns and Noah Collins rushed for 87 yards and two touchdowns. Those 87 rushing yards set a new season-high mark for Collins. Cherokee Trail also got a significant boost from Brian Tucker, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 90 yards.
Dakota Ridge's win bumped their record up to 3-1. As for Cherokee Trail, the victory got them back to even at 2-2.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
