Football Preview: Newport Greyhounds vs. Salem Greyhounds
Newport is on a four-game streak of home wins (dating back to last season), while Salem is on a four-game streak of away wins (also dating back to last season): one of those streaks is about to end. The Newport Greyhounds will host the Salem Greyhounds at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Salem took a loss in their last contest and will be looking to turn the tables on Newport, who comes in off a win.
Last Friday, everything came up roses for Newport at home against Batesville as the team secured a 66-24 victory. The game was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 38-7.
Kiandrea Barker had a dynamite game for Newport, rushing for 212 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 11.8 yards per carry, and also catching a touchdown. With that strong performance, Barker is now averaging an impressive 152.5 rushing yards per game. Luke Reynolds was another key player, rushing for 104 yards and two touchdowns on only five carries.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Newport was moving up and down the field and finished the game with 496 total yards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Batesville only gained 283.
Meanwhile, Salem started off well but failed to capitalize on an early lead against Prescott. They took a 31-22 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Curley Wolves on Thursday.
Although Salem took the loss, they still got scores from Jackson Taylor, Ryan Dailey, and Caleb Leisenring.
Even if they lost, Salem's defensive line still kept up the pressure with seven sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Keagan Sanderson and Skyler Payne who racked up five sacks between them. Sanderson is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made six or more in the last six games he's played dating back to last season.
Newport's win bumped their record up to 2-0. As for Salem, their loss dropped their record down to 1-1.
Newport lost to Salem at home by a decisive 52-34 margin in their previous meeting back in September of 2023. Thankfully for Newport, Elijah Romine (who rushed for 189 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 8.2 yards per carry, and also picked up 31 receiving yards) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
