Football Game Preview: Hopewell-Loudon Chieftains vs. Kirtland Hornets

The Hopewell-Loudon Chieftains will square off against the Kirtland Hornets at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Hopewell-Loudon comes in on seven and Kirtland on 14.

Hopewell-Loudon is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past Coldwater 20-18.

Meanwhile, Kirtland's offense rose to the challenge against an Eagles defense that boasted an average of only 14.27 points allowed on Friday. The Hornets claimed a resounding 49-22 victory over Colonel Crawford. Considering the Hornets have won 13 matchups by more than 19 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.

Hopewell-Loudon better keep an eye on John Silvestro. He was instrumental in Kirtland's win, rushing for 231 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 12.2 yards per carry. That's the most rushing yards Silvestro has posted since back in October. The team also got some help courtesy of Ty Bledsoe, who rushed for 155 yards and one score on only 15 carries.

Kirtland was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 443 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 178 rushing yards every time they've taken the field this season.

Hopewell-Loudon's win bumped their record up to 13-1. As for Kirtland, their victory bumped their record up to 14-0.