Football Preview: Westwood, Elkhart begins district with annual rivalry
Sep. 22—PALESTINE — The annual rivalry game between the Westwood Panthers and Elkhart Elks is on the horizon as they both begin District 9-3A DI play Friday.
From the outside, the Elkhart Elks and Westwood Panthers enter their district opener trending in opposite directions. The Elks are winners of three of their past four games, while the Panthers have dropped their last three non-district contests.
"It was a good preseason for us," head coach Luke Goode said. "We didn't like last week's results, but at the end of the day, playing a good team is good for us. It shows you what you need to work on to maintain the ability to win."
For the Elks, it was just the second time in a decade they won three of their first four games. It meant even more for this year's squad who was returning from a 1-9 season the year prior.
For Westwood, it would be an understatement to say they didn't meet the expectations they set for themselves during their non-district slate. However, as head coach Richard Bishop says, the team must "park" the mistakes of previous games and focus on what's ahead.
The positives? Westwood's defense has given them a chance to remain competitive in all three of their losses. They held Buffalo to 19 points with 13 of those coming in the second quarter. They held Eustace to eight points in the first half, which allowed them room to build a 21-8 halftime lead.
In their final preseason game, they held Centerville without a score in final two quarters of regulation.
Elkhart has scored at least 34 points in three of its four games. Westwood has only given up more than 30 once this season. All that has added up to Elkhart being 10-point favorites over Westwood Friday, according to Texas Football.
It's just the second time this season they've been favorites and their largest point spread yet.
"It's cool people think we're better, but for us we've only proven we can have a good preseason," Goode said. "What have we really proved? We still have a lot to go to prove we're a team that's favorable on Friday nights. I still see us as underdogs."
Elkhart has won seven of the previous nine match ups against the Panthers. Westwood snapped Elkhart's streak last year of five consecutive wins against them in a 28-8 win.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Panther Stadium in Westwood.
Game History:
* 2020: Westwood 28, Elkhart 8
* 2019: Elkhart 36, Westwood 13
* 2018: Elkhart 36, Westwood 3
* 2017: Elkhart 35, Westwood 34 (OT)
* 2016: Elkhart 31, Westwood 28
* 2015: Westwood 20, Elkhart 14
* 2014: Elkhart 26, Westwood 21
* 2013: Elkhart 55, Westwood 21
* 2012: Elkhart 49, Westwood 28
