Football Preview: Bentworth Bearcats vs. California Trojans
The Bentworth Bearcats will play host again on Friday to welcome the California Trojans, where kickoff is scheduled at 7:00 p.m. California took a loss in their last game and will be looking to turn the tables on Bentworth, who comes in off a win.
Bentworth will roll into the contest after a wild two-game stretch: they only put up six points last Friday, then bounced right back against Charleroi on Friday. Bentworth walked away with a 35-28 victory over Charleroi.
Ben Hays was a one-man wrecking crew for Bentworth as he rushed for 144 yards and a touchdown on only 12 carries, and also picked up 49 receiving yards. Hays' longest rush was for an impressive 57 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total. Ty Watson was another key player, rushing for 40 yards and two touchdowns.
On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Bentworth's defense and their four sacks. In that department, Gavin Piasecki was the leader with two. He also deserves a shoutout for his performance on D, picking up two sacks and making seven total tackles (2.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, California came up short against Waynesburg Central on Friday and fell 28-18. The Trojans have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
California's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Lee Qualk, who rushed for 149 yards and a touchdown on only 15 carries, and Malachi Peak, who rushed for 48 yards and a touchdown. That's the most total yards Peak has posted since back in August of 2023. Alan Dennis got in on the action too, returning a kick for a touchdown.
Bentworth's win ended a five-game drought at home dating back to last season and bumped them up to 2-1. As for California, their defeat ended a seven-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 1-2.
Bentworth took a serious blow against California in their previous meeting back in October of 2023, falling 61-0. Can Bentworth avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
