Football Preview: Tiftarea Academy Panthers vs. Valwood Valiants
Tiftarea Academy has been away from home for two games now, but on Friday they'll finally make their return. They will take on the Valwood Valiants at 7:30 p.m. Both might be coming in a bit winded given these two teams combined for 852 yards in their previous games.
Last Friday, Tiftarea Academy earned a 30-22 victory over Terrell Academy.
Tiftarea Academy can attribute much of their success to John Jackson, who picked up 98 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Tiftarea Academy was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 258 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 157 rushing yards in 12 consecutive games dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, after only six points in their last match, Valwood made sure to put some points up on the board against Brookwood on Friday. Valwood breezed by Brookwood to the tune of 38-7. The Valiants might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four contests by 31 points or more this season.
Valwood found their leader in freshman Asher Wells, who rushed for 92 yards and two touchdowns on only eight carries, and also threw for 88 yards and a touchdown. The dominant performance gave Wells a new career-high in rushing yards. Kamari Jackson was another key player, rushing for 126 yards on only eight carries.
Tiftarea Academy's win bumped their record up to 8-1. As for Valwood, they pushed their record up to 7-2 with the victory, which was their tenth straight at home dating back to last season.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Tiftarea Academy has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 250.3 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Valwood struggles in that department as they've been averaging 251.8. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Tiftarea Academy took a serious blow against Valwood in their previous matchup back in September of 2023, falling 41-0. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Valwood's Tayt Snellgrove, who rushed for 114 yards on only seven carries, and also threw for 38 yards and a touchdown. Now that Tiftarea Academy knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
