Football Preview: Albany Warriors vs. Pattonsburg Panthers
The Albany Warriors will head out on the road to take on the Pattonsburg Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Albany has seven straight wins, Pattonsburg has three straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Last Friday, Albany took their matchup at home with ease, bagging a 46-6 victory over Stanberry. The Warriors might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four games by 22 points or more this season.
Kyle Emerson was his usual excellent self, picking up 134 receiving yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 82 yards and two touchdowns. The bulk of those receiving yards came from one huge play: a catch that gained an incredible 74 yards.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Albany was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 243 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 159 rushing yards in seven consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Pattonsburg challenged Worth County/Northeast Nodaway on Friday. Pattonsburg was outmatched by Worth County/Northeast Nodaway on the road and fell 94-32.
Pattonsburg might have lost, but man, Camden Griffith was a machine: he threw for 161 yards and two touchdowns, and also picked up 60 receiving yards and a touchdown. Landon Preston was another key player, picking up 82 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Albany pushed their record up to 7-0 with the win, which was their third straight at home. As for Pattonsburg, their loss dropped their record down to 1-6.
The upcoming match will be a clash of competing strengths. Albany has deployed a run-first offense that has averaged 246.1 rushing yards a game. Meanwhile, Pattonsburg has preferred to attack from the air: they average 293 passing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Friday? There's only one way to find out.
Albany took a serious blow against Pattonsburg in their previous meeting back in October of 2023, falling 50-0. Can Albany avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
