Football Preview: Monrovia Bulldogs vs. Speedway Sparkplugs
Two dominant backs in Ryder Pool and Jazz Coleman are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Monrovia Bulldogs are taking a road trip to square off against the Speedway Sparkplugs at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Monrovia has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 134 points over their last three matchups.
Monrovia is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They breezed by Beech Grove at home to the tune of 55-22 on Friday. The Bulldogs pushed the score to 55-16 by the end of the third, a deficit the Hornets cut but never quite recovered from.
Monrovia's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Pool, who rushed for 64 yards and a touchdown on only five carries, and also picked up 31 receiving yards. Pool didn't just play on offense: he also made three total tackles and defended two passes in addition to snagging an interception. Monrovia also got a significant boost from Jozy Hand, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 113 yards.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Monrovia was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 480 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in October of 2023.
On the defensive side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Monrovia's defense and their four sacks. Korbin Monroe was especially locked on to Beech Grove's QB and sacked him three times.
Meanwhile, after a string of three wins, Speedway's good fortune finally ran out on Friday. They fell to Indianapolis Scecina Memorial 21-15. The loss continues a trend for the Sparkplugs in their matchups with the Crusaders: they've now lost three in a row.
Speedway's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Connor Moreland, who threw for 122 yards and a touchdown, and JaRonn Smith, who picked up 56 receiving yards and a touchdown. The bulk of those receiving yards came from one huge play: a catch that gained an incredible 59 yards.
Monrovia pushed their record up to 4-1 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. As for Speedway, their loss dropped their record down to 3-2.
Monrovia strolled past Speedway in their previous matchup back in October of 2023 by a score of 20-3. Will Monrovia repeat their success, or does Speedway have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
