The Tide will have a tough job stopping the Rams this week if they want to bring home their first win of the season.
The last 2 weeks of play have been great for the Rams with last week\’s win over Otto-Eldred and a week 3 1 point loss to Ridgway where the Rams vs Rover nail-biter could have gone either way right up to the last second of the game.
The Tide are probably playing their closest matched team of the season, but the numbers are still not in their favor. The Tide has averaged 230 yards per game while the Rams average 302.
Curwensville has given up an average of 48 points per game while the Rams have only allowed their opponents an average of 27.5 points per game.
The Rams bring QB Zach Padasak to the field. Zach has completed 42 of 88 passing attempts for a total of 644 yards (2nd in the AML), with 6 of these attempts completed in the end zone for a score.
The Rams leading running back, Zane Zelehoski, has rushed 62 times for 383 yards and 4 touch downs. Zelehoski is the 3rd highest rusher in the AML.
The Padasak passing game and Zelehoski rush have resulted in 9 of the Rams 11 touch downs of the season.
The Tide are surely preparing to shut down the Ram\’s effective offense and take advantage of Padasak\’s tendency to throw interceptions. Padasak has thrown 8 interceptions, tied for the highest number of AML interceptions this season.
At the same time, the Tide\’s David Kalgren will have to curve his own turn over rate. He shares this number one spot with Padasak having thrown 8 interceptions this season as well.
It\’s fair to say that the Tide have been their own worst enemy thus far in the season. Close games have turned to blow outs when opponents capitalize on Tide errors.
The Tide will need to clean up their turn overs and shut down the Zelehoski/Padasak game in a real attempt to run the ams back to Johnsonburg with a loss.
Kick off is at 7PM at Curwensville\’s Riverside Stadium.
(editor\’s note – Statistics are from D9sorts.com website)