Two dominant wideouts in Blake Lilly and Xander Richardson are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Penn Cambria Panthers will look to defend their home field on Friday against the Forest Hills Rangers at 7:00 p.m. Penn Cambria's defense has only allowed 14.3 points per game this season, so Forest Hills' offense will have their work cut out for them.
Penn Cambria is probably headed into the matchup with a chip on their shoulder considering Clearfield just ended the team's six-game winning streak on Friday. They fell 34-28 to the Bison. The defensive woes were uncharacteristic for the Panthers, who until this game were averaging 14.3 points allowed.
Penn Cambria's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Brady Jones, who threw for 128 yards and one TD on only 11 passes, and Evan Latterner, who rushed for 65 yards and one score. Latterner's longest rush was for an impressive 50 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total.
Penn Cambria didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Grant Gides and Lilly. Penn Cambria got some further help from Corbin Vinglish: he made 15 total tackles (1.0 for loss) and defended one pass.
Meanwhile, Forest Hills lost to Bellwood-Antis on the road by a 45-27 margin on Friday.
Although Forest Hills took the loss, they still got scores from Richardson, Koy McGough, Cam Vitez, and Ed Raptosh.
Penn Cambria's record is now 8-2. As for Forest Hills, their record now sits at 6-4.
Friday's contest might be decided on the ground. Penn Cambria has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 241.9 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Forest Hills struggles in that department as they've been averaging 148.3 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's matchup turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Penn Cambria came up short against Forest Hills in their previous matchup back in September, falling 22-18. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Richardson, who rushed for 110 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and also threw for 115 yards and one TD. Now that the Panthers know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
