Football Preview: Piedmont Highlanders vs. Hayward Farmers
Piedmont has played every game this season on their home field, but they'll have to hit the road on Friday. They will take on the Hayward Farmers at 7:00 p.m. One thing working in Piedmont's favor is that they have posted at least 31 points in their last four games.
Piedmont's defense heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They blew past Dougherty Valley 41-0 at home. Considering the Highlanders have won four matches by more than 20 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Piedmont had a senior duo take command as Markos Lagios threw for 279 yards and four touchdowns while completing 80% of his passes and Sam Shelby picked up 193 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Those four passing touchdowns set a new season-high mark for Lagios.
Meanwhile, Friday just wasn't the day for Hayward's offense. They took a blow against San Ramon Valley last Friday, falling 48-0. While losing is never fun, the Farmers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 461st, while the Wolves are ranked 20th).
Piedmont's victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 4-1. As for Hayward, they now have a losing record at 2-3.
Friday's contest might be decided in the on the ground. Piedmont has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 202.2 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Hayward struggles in that department as they've been averaging 152.2. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Piedmont strolled past Hayward in their previous meeting back in October of 2015 by a score of 28-14. The rematch might be a little tougher for Piedmont since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
