Football Preview: Smyrna Eagles vs. Sussex Central Golden Knights
Smyrna is on a three-game streak of home wins, while Sussex Central is on a six-game streak of away wins (dating back to last season): one of those streaks is about to end. The Smyrna Eagles will square off against the Sussex Central Golden Knights at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Smyrna is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Delaware's top teams: St. Georges Tech, who was ranked ninth in their home state at the time (Smyrna was ranked sixth). Smyrna took a 19-6 hit to the loss column at the hands of St. Georges Tech on Saturday. The Eagles gained 83 more yards on the day, but it was the Hawks that made the best use of them.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Drew Marks, who threw for 167 yards and a touchdown, and also rushed for 62 yards. A healthy portion of Marks' aerial production (97 yards to be exact) went to Phoenix Henriquez, who also brought in a receiving touchdown.
Meanwhile, a well-balanced attack led Sussex Central over Caesar Rodney in every quarter on their way to victory on Friday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Sussex Central blew Caesar Rodney out of the water with a 41-0 final score. The contest marked the Golden Knights' most dominant win of the season.
Malik Bell continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 202 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 12.6 yards per carry. His rushing production has been exceptional for a while as that marked his tenth straight game with at least 126 rushing yards dating back to last season.
Sussex Central was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 479 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Smyrna's defeat dropped their record down to 4-5. As for Sussex Central, their record is now 8-1.
Smyrna didn't have too much breathing room in their match against Sussex Central when the teams last played back in November of 2023, but they still walked away with a 40-35 victory. Does Smyrna have another victory up their sleeve, or will Sussex Central turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
