Preview: West Panthers vs. Alta Hawks
West has enjoyed a two-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will face off against The Alta Hawks at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the pair will really light up the scoreboard.
On October 11th, West faced Brighton in a battle between two of the state's top teams. West came out on top against Brighton by a score of 31-24.
West had a senior duo take command as Kelvan Malepeai rushed for 179 yards and a touchdown and Isaiah Su'esu'e threw for 200 yards and two touchdowns while completing 75% of his passes.
Meanwhile, Alta can now show off six landslide victories after their most recent contest on Friday. They were the clear victor by a 34-10 margin over Highland. The victory was familiar territory for Alta who now have four in a row.
Alta's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Anthony Cottis led the charge by rushing for 103 yards and a touchdown. Nolan Lohnes was another key contributor, rushing for 65 yards and a touchdown.
West's victory was their fourth straight at home, bumping their overall record up to 6-3. That said, the team wasn't facing the toughest opposition over that stretch, as it included 0-10 Skyline and 3-7 Highland (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 37.5% over those games). As for Alta, they have been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a nice bump to their 8-3 record this season.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's matchup: West has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 237.4 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Alta struggles in that department as they've been averaging 171.9 per game. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches.
West took their victory against Alta in their previous meeting back in September by a conclusive 53-27. The rematch might be a little tougher for West since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
