Football Preview: Rahway Indians vs. Somerville Pioneers
Rahway is 1-7 against Somerville since October of 2016 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Rahway Indians will challenge the Somerville Pioneers at 7:00 p.m. Both teams are still undefeated after three-games, but that won't be the case come Friday.
Last Friday, everything went Rahway's way against Perth Amboy as Rahway made off with a 28-7 win. Fans of the Indians have seen this all before: every one of the games they've played this season has ended in a blowout of 20+ point.
Andrew Avent went supernova for Rahway, rushing for 195 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 8.1 yards per carry. Avent is crushing it when it comes to rushing yards: he's rushed for at least 125 every time he's taken the field this season.
Rahway was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 280 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 172 rushing yards in three consecutive games.
One reason for the win was Rahway's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for four sacks. Donea Fish was especially locked on to Perth Amboy's QB and sacked him twice.
Meanwhile, Somerville really took it to Montgomery for the full four quarters, racking up a 42-7 victory on the road. Given the Pioneers' advantage in MaxPreps' New Jersey football rankings (they are ranked 39th, while the Cougars are ranked 152nd), the result on Friday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Brenden Pacheco and Terrell Mitchell were among the main playmakers for Somerville as the former threw for 215 yards and four touchdowns and the latter gained 133 total yards and two touchdowns. The dominant performance gave Mitchell a new career-high in rushing yards. 86 of those passing yards were hauled in by Brady Scheier, who also brought in a receiving touchdown.
Somerville'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 Joshua Rodriguez and Aidan Bush.
Rahway's win ended a five-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 3-0. As for Somerville, their victory bumped their record up to an identical 3-0.
Friday's match might be decided in the trenches. Rahway has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 247.7 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Somerville struggles in that department as they've been averaging 180.7. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Rahway ended up a good deal behind Somerville in their previous matchup back in November of 2021, losing 38-21. Can Rahway avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
