Football
Football Preview: Can Kulgren and Blanchet upset EC in Green Lake?
As Metro League teams scramble to assert themselves early in the season, how will the Crusaders and Bears match up for their clash this Friday?
This Friday, the Eastside Catholic Crusaders travel to Seattle to play the Bishop Blanchet Bears. The Crusaders are coming off of a huge win, having crushed the Eastlake Wolves 40-14 last Friday. The Bears are entering the game looking to step up, having lost to Monroe 17-31. Just based on paper (and previous matchups), the Crusaders seem primed to take down the Bears on Friday.
When the Bears and Crusaders faced each other last year, Eastside beat Blanchet in a record breaking 55-0. This season, the Bears hope to upset the Crusaders. EC’s top performer was running back Jeremiah Burroughs, who had 24 carries for a whopping 195 yards 2 touchdowns, giving the speedster an average rush per carry of 8.1 yards. This Friday, the Bears are going to have to work tirelessly to shut the running back down, if they don’t, it’s could be a long night for the home team.
Blanchet’s starting QB Max Kulgren had a good game against 4A Monroe last Friday with 122 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, one interception, and a 58.8 percent pass completion. Kulgren’s effort wasn’t enough for Blanchet — as the Bears ultimately lost to Monroe 31-17 — but if the home team is to have any success on Friday, Kulgren will have to come out swinging and put the EC defense on its heels. As the focus of the Bears’ attack, the Crusaders will have to focus on ways to shut Kulgren down if they’re to repeat last year’s result.
The question stands: Will the Crusaders win as projected, or will the Bears upset them and beat Eastside for the first time in years?