Football Preview: Zionsville Eagles vs. Westfield Shamrocks
Zionsville hasn't had much luck against Westfield recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Zionsville Eagles will venture away from home to square off against the Westfield Shamrocks at 7:00 p.m. That game will pit two of the most dominant backs against one another: Sam Manna and Deacon King.
Zionsville is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They pulled ahead with a 29-28 photo finish over Carmel. The win was some much needed relief for the Eagles as it spelled an end to their four-game losing streak.
Zionsville had a senior duo take command as Eugene Hilton picked up 97 receiving yards and two touchdowns and Zachary Trent threw for 232 yards and two touchdowns. The dominant performance also gave Hilton a new career-high in rushing yards (21).
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Westfield). They claimed a resounding 49-0 victory over Harrison. The win was nothing new for the Shamrocks as they're now sitting on four straight.
Westfield's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Broc Parker, who rushed for 132 yards on only seven carries, and King, who rushed for 71 yards and two touchdowns on only eight carries. King is on a roll when it comes to rushing touchdowns, as he's now punched in two or more in the last four games he's played. Westfield also got help from Preston Pekala, who showed off his sure hands for 86 receiving yards.
Westfield was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 247 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 162 rushing yards in four consecutive contests.
Westfield's victory was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 9-1. Those good results were due in large part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 11.5 points per game. As for Zionsville, their record now sits at 4-6.
Zionsville lost to Westfield on the road by a decisive 28-10 margin when the teams last played back in September. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Westfield's Carsen Melvin, who threw for 143 yards and two touchdowns, and also punched in a touchdown on the ground. Now that Zionsville knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
