Two dominant backs in Charlie Branning and Preston Michel are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Liberty Christian Patriots will square off against the Wilbur-Creston-Keller Wildcats at 11:00 a.m. on Friday. Both teams are still undefeated after 13-games, but that won't be the case come Friday.
Liberty Christian is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Saturday. They came out on top against Almira-Coulee-Hartline by a score of 36-28.
Branning was his usual excellent self, rushing for 200 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 10.5 yards per carry. He is on a roll when it comes to rushing touchdowns, as he's now punched in two or more in the last five games he's played. Joey Isley was another key player, picking up 41 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Liberty Christian wouldn't let Almira-Coulee-Hartline keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Liberty Christian can thank Ryan Powell and Eli Isley for forcing both of them.
Liberty Christian was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 233 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 233 rushing yards in three consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, Wilbur-Creston-Keller faced Naselle in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Saturday. Wilbur-Creston-Keller put the hurt on Naselle with a sharp 52-28 win. The Wildcats might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 12 contests by 24 points or more this season.
Wilbur-Creston-Keller had a senior duo take command as Michel gained 313 total yards and two touchdowns and Kallen Maioho rushed for 122 yards and five touchdowns on only 15 carries.
Liberty Christian's victory was their tenth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 13-0. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 40.8 points. As for Wilbur-Creston-Keller, their win bumped their record up to 13-0.
Friday's match might be decided in the on the ground. Liberty Christian has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 230.3 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Wilbur-Creston-Keller struggles in that department as they've been averaging 403. 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
