Football Game Preview: Ponchatoula Green Wave vs. Hammond Tornadoes

The Ponchatoula Green Wave are taking a road trip to take on the Hammond Tornadoes at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Ponchatoula took a loss when they played away from home last Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They walked away with a 24-14 win over Covington. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last five times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.

Meanwhile, Hammond was not the first on the board on Friday, but they got there more often. They put the hurt on Salmen with a sharp 40-20 victory. The Tornadoes haven't had any issues with the Spartans recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive win against them.

Ponchatoula better keep an eye on Zalen Bennett. He was instrumental in Hammond's win, rushing for 158 yards and three TDs while picking up 7.9 yards per carry. That's the most rushing touchdowns Bennett has posted since back in November of 2024. Reginald Monroe did his part to keep the secondary busy, picking up 98 receiving yards.

Hammond didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Nathaniel Weber and Kevin Tuguta. Tuguta has been hot, having also posted five or more total tackles the last five times he's played. Hammond got some further help from Trion Wise: he picked up 0.5 sacks and made 11 total tackles (3.0 for loss).

Hammond's record is now 6-3. As for Ponchatoula, their victory was their first in the district, bumping their district record up to 1-2 and their overall record up to 2-7.

Ponchatoula couldn't quite get it done against Hammond in their previous matchup back in November of 2024 as they fell 33-25. Can the Green Wave avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.