The Gibsonburg Golden Bears will head out on the road to square off against the Willard Crimson Flashes at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Gibsonburg has three straight wins, Willard has five straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Last Friday, Gibsonburg blew past Lakota, posting a 55-7 victory at home. That 48 point margin sets a new team best for the Golden Bears this season.
Reece Walby continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 67 yards and three touchdowns on only six carries, while also throwing for 80 yards and a touchdown. Another player making a difference was Grant Smith, who rushed for 105 yards and a touchdown on only ten carries.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Gibsonburg was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 292 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 243 rushing yards in three consecutive contests.
Gibsonburg didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Luke Foster and Antonio Salazar. What's more, Salazar also racked up 42 rushing yards, the mosthe's had since back in September of 2023.
Meanwhile, Friday just wasn't the day for Willard's offense. They were beaten by Hopewell-Loudon 56-0 on Friday. The matchup marked the first time this season in which the Crimson Flashes were not able to get on the board.
Gibsonburg's win was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 5-2. As for Willard, their loss dropped their record down to 2-5.
Everything came up roses for Gibsonburg against Willard in their previous meeting back in October of 2023, as the team secured a 48-7 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Gibsonburg since the squad 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
