Football Preview: Eastern Greene Thunderbirds vs. Paoli Rams
Eastern Greene is 0-3 against Paoli since September of 2021 but things could change on Friday. The Eastern Greene Thunderbirds will welcome the Paoli Rams at 7:00 p.m. The two teams are strolling into their games after big wins in their previous games.
Last Friday, Eastern Greene got the win against Clarksville by a conclusive 36-16. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Thunderbirds.
Peyton Lewis continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 105 yards and two touchdowns, while also throwing for 141 yards and a touchdown on only 11 passes. He didn't just play on offense: he also made two total tackles (1.0 for loss) and defended a pass. Another player making a difference was Bryson Jones, who gained 88 total yards and a touchdown.
Eastern Greene wouldn't let Clarksville keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force three fumbles. It was truly a group effort as Brody Teague, Bradlee Carter, and Carter picked up one apiece. The dominant performance also gave Ayden Deckard a new career-high in rushing yards.
Meanwhile, Paoli put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They blew past West Washington 42-6 on the road. Considering the Rams have won three contests by more than 24 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
It was another big night for Tyler Hannon, who rushed for 140 yards and a touchdown on only 11 carries, and also caught a touchdown. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 102.4 rushing yards per game. Fletcher Cole was another key player, rushing for 70 yards and a touchdown.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Paoli was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 345 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 160 rushing yards in 17 consecutive matches dating back to last season.
On the defensive side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Paoli's defense and their 6.5 sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Hannon and Ian Drake, who racked up four sacks between them.
Eastern Greene's win bumped their record up to 2-3. As for Paoli, their victory bumped their record up to 5-0.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Eastern Greene has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 169.6 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Paoli struggles in that department as they've been averaging 364. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Eastern Greene was taken down by Paoli 57-27 when the teams last played back in September of 2023. Thankfully for Eastern Greene, Trey Rominger (who rushed for 293 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 9.8 yards per carry) 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
