Football Preview: Provo Bulldogs vs. Payson Lions
Provo has been away from home for three games now, but on Friday they'll finally make their return. They will welcome the Payson Lions at 7:00 p.m. Provo will be hoping to continue their four-game streak of scoring more points each matchup than the last.
Provo is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They came out on top against Timpanogos by a score of 48-35 on Friday. The Bulldogs pushed the score to 42-21 by the end of the third, a deficit the Timberwolves cut but never quite recovered from.
Provo can attribute much of their success to Gehrig Orchard, who threw for 244 yards and two touchdowns.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Provo was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 267 rushing yards. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved they're rushing yard total in four consecutive games.
Another reason for the win was Provo's imposing defensive line, which managed to get into the backfield for six sacks. Leading the way was Griffin Demartini with five.
Meanwhile, Payson was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their fourth straight defeat. They received a blow as they fell 32-13 to Murray.
Payson might have lost, but man, Seth Staley was a machine: he picked up 135 receiving yards and a touchdown. Staley torched the secondary when he pulled down a catch that went for 90 yards. Trevyn Wall was another key player, having thrown for 286 yards and onetouchdown.
Payson's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. The picks came courtesy of Asher Geldmacher and Gabriel Sanders.
Provo pushed their record up to 3-2 with the victory, which was their seventh straight on the road dating back to last season. As for Payson, their loss dropped their record down to 1-5.
Friday's match might be decided in the trenches. Provo has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 185 rushing yards per game. It's a different story for Payson, though, as they've been averaging only 78. How will they fare against such a dominant running game?
Provo came up short against Payson in their previous matchup back in October of 2023, falling 27-21. Thankfully for Provo, Cooper Swasey (who rushed for 181 yards and a touchdown while picking up 7.5 yards per carry) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
