Preview: Charlestown Pirates vs. Heritage Hills Patriots
Two dominant signal callers in Clay McClelland and Jett Goldsberry are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Charlestown Pirates will head out on the road to face off against the Heritage Hills Patriots at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Charlestown had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 38.3 points), and they went ahead and made it four on Friday. They blew past Eastern 52-14 on the road.
McClelland continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 59 yards and two touchdowns on only six carries, while also throwing for 167 yards and two touchdowns on only 11 passes. McClelland is on a roll when it comes to rushing touchdowns, as he's now punched in two or more in the last three games he's played. Logan Harvey also deserves a shout-out for his two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Heritage Hills really took it to Washington for the full four quarters, racking up a 50-7 victory at home. Given Heritage Hills' advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana football rankings (they are ranked 45th, while Washington is ranked 244th), the result on Friday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Heritage Hills found their leader in underclassman Goldsberry, who threw for 141 yards and four touchdowns, and also punched in a touchdown on the ground. The team also got some help courtesy of Hunter Meredith, who gained 120 total yards and two touchdowns.
Their wins bumped Charlestown to 6-3 and Heritage Hills to 8-1.
Keep an eye on the end zone in Friday's game as the two teams haven't had much trouble getting there this season. Charlestown commands a daunting offense this season, having averaged 5 touchdowns per game. However, it's not like Heritage Hills struggles in that department as they've been even better at 5.6 per game. With these two high-octane teams facing off on Friday, fans should be in for an exciting offensive matchup.
Charlestown came up short against Heritage Hills in their previous meeting back in October of 2022, falling 35-25. Thankfully for Charlestown, Skyler Staples (who rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
