Preview: Harding Academy Wildcats vs. Malvern Leopards
The Harding Academy Wildcats will stay at home for another week and welcome the Malvern Leopards at 7:00 p.m. on November 17th. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Two teams were on the hunt for playoff glory, but only Harding Academy walked away with it. They blew past Gentry, posting a 49-12 win at home. Harding Academy's offense checked out after the first half but had enough points banked to take the game anyway.
It was another big night for Owen Miller, who threw for 305 yards and three touchdowns on only 13 passes, and also rushed for 86 yards and a touchdown on only six carries. Kyler Hoover was another key contributor, picking up 208 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Another reason for the win was Harding Academy's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for four sacks. Leading the way was Samuel Swindle and his two sacks.
Meanwhile, everything came up roses for Malvern at home against Lonoke on Friday as the team secured a 48-14 victory. The win was just what Malvern needed coming off of a 55-35 loss in their prior match.
Jalen Dupree continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 154 yards and three touchdowns on only 11 carries, while also throwing for four yards and a touchdown while completing 100% of his passes. Dupree has been hot recently, having posted 100 or more rushing yards the last ten times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Sedrick ?bishop? allen, who threw for 169 yards and two touchdowns on only 13 passes.
Harding Academy has yet to lose a matchup at home this season, leaving them with a 11-0 record. They've been dominating during the contests in that stretch too, as they've won by an average of 30.27 points. As for Malvern, they have been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matches, which provided a nice bump to their 8-3 record this season.
Friday's contest might be decided on the ground as these two are both standouts in the run game. Harding Academy has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 159.5 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Malvern struggles in that department as they've been even better at 290.4 per game. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more football content.
Harding Academy suffered a grim 64-39 defeat to Malvern in their previous matchup back in December of 2022. Thankfully for Harding Academy, Cedric Simmons (who rushed for 159 yards and two touchdowns on only ten carries, and also threw for 224 yards and three touchdowns on only 13 passes) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
