Football Game Preview: Sto-Rox Vikings vs. South Allegheny Gladiators

The Sto-Rox Vikings will venture away from home to face off against the South Allegheny Gladiators at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Sto-Rox took a 40-point loss the last time they faced off against Carlynton, but this time they managed to keep it close and that made all the difference. The Vikings narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past the Cougars 8-6.

Meanwhile, South Allegheny strolled into their game on Friday with a perfect record and they left with the same. They breezed past Apollo Ridge to the tune of 35-0. Given the Gladiators' advantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania football rankings (they are ranked 137th, while the Vikings are ranked 290th) , the win wasn't entirely unexpected.

Sto-Rox better focus on containing Tyrone Claytor and Hakim Harrell as the pair were huge in South Allegheny's win. Claytor rushed for 140 yards and one score on only five carries, while Harrell rushed for 136 yards and one touchdown. Harrell got the majority of those rushing yards when he took off on a run that went for an incredible 80 yards. Kymair Brown did his part to keep the secondary busy, picking up 81 receiving yards.

South Allegheny was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 337 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.

South Allegheny's record now sits at 8-0. As for Sto-Rox, their win (their first of the season) made their record 1-7.

Sto-Rox was dealt a bruising 48-0 defeat at the hands of South Allegheny in their previous matchup back in October of 2024. Can the Vikings avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.