Football Preview: Pike Central Chargers vs. Washington Hatchets
Two dominant backs in Grant Boyd and Xavion Lesure are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Pike Central Chargers will be playing at home against the Washington Hatchets at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Pike Central is coming into the contest on a three-game losing streak.
Last Friday, Pike Central came up short against South Spencer and fell 27-16.
Pike Central might have lost, but man, Boyd was a machine: he rushed for 134 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 7.9 yards per carry.
Pike Central wouldn't let South Spencer keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Pike Central can thank Arie Oneal and Justin Spinks for forcing both of them. Pike Central got some further help from Briar Thomas: he made 14 total tackles (3.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Washington, who bounced back after a loss on the road two weeks ago. They blew past Princeton 42-8 at home on Friday. The result was nothing new for the Hatchets, who have now won three matches by 21 points or more so far this season.
Lesure was his usual excellent self, rushing for 207 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 11.5 yards per carry. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 120.4 rushing yards per game. Colton Stowers was another key player, throwing for 270 yards and two touchdowns while completing 84.2% of his passes.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Washington was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 258 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in September of 2023.
Washington's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. The picks came courtesy of Cordell Turner and Cooper Wright.
Pike Central now has a losing record at 2-3. As for Washington, they pushed their record up to 4-1 with the win, which was their third straight at home.
Friday's game might be decided in the on the ground. Pike Central has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 209.6 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Washington struggles in that department as they've been averaging 177.6. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Pike Central was taken down by Washington 41-13 in their previous meeting back in September of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Lesure, who rushed for 112 yards and two touchdowns on only 11 carries. Now that Pike Central knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
