Football Preview: North Kingstown Skippers vs. Portsmouth Patriots
North Kingstown has won three straight games at home, while Portsmouth has won three straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Friday. The North Kingstown Skippers will welcome the Portsmouth Patriots at 6:00 p.m. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
North Kingstown is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Rhode Island's top teams: Cumberland, who was ranked fifth in their home state at the time (North Kingstown was ranked seventh). North Kingstown walked away with a 17-7 win over Cumberland last Friday.
North Kingstown's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Jack Diano, who threw for 202 yards and two touchdowns while completing 84.2% of his passes. Another receiver making a difference was Gian Iacuele, who picked up 102 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Another reason for the win was North Kingstown's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for three sacks. Leading the way was Naftali Watson with two. He is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made five or more in the last 16 games he's played dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, with a playoff game on the line, Portsmouth rose to the challenge on Saturday. They claimed a resounding 34-0 win over the Falcons. That looming 34-0 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Patriots yet this season.
Joe Sanderson was his usual excellent self, rushing for 234 yards and three touchdowns on only 11 carries. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in rushing yards. The team also got some help courtesy of Adam Conheeny, who picked up 54 receiving yards.
Portsmouth didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Michael Faria and Jackson Hackley.
North Kingstown has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a massive bump to their 4-3 record this season. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 27.8 points per game. As for Portsmouth, their victory bumped their record up to 6-3.
Friday's match might be decided in the on the ground. North Kingstown has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 163.1 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Portsmouth struggles in that department as they've been averaging 232. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
North Kingstown took their win against Portsmouth in their previous matchup back in September of 2023 by a conclusive 31-6. Will North Kingstown repeat their success, or does Portsmouth have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
