Football Preview: Pickerington North Panthers vs. Westerville Central Warhawks
Pickerington North has gone 7-2 against Westerville Central recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Pickerington North Panthers will face off against the Westerville Central Warhawks at 7:00 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Pickerington North has four straight victories, Westerville Central has seven straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Pickerington North is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They claimed a resounding 63-7 win over Thomas Worthington on the road. The matchup was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 56-7.
Pickerington North can attribute much of their success to Jarin Mock, who threw for 186 yards and three touchdowns while completing 83.3% of his passes, and Bryan Appiah, who rushed for 77 yards and a touchdown. Appiah's longest rush was for an incredible 77 yards. Emy (Chris) Louis Jr also deserves a mention for his punt return touchdown.
Pickerington North's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged three passes before it was all said and done. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Malachi Taylor.
Meanwhile, Friday just wasn't the day for Westerville Central's offense. They were beaten by Olentangy 33-0 on Friday. While losing is never fun, the Warhawks can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Ohio football rankings (they are ranked 338th, while the Braves are ranked 64th).
Pickerington North's victory bumped their record up to 4-1. As for Westerville Central, their loss dropped their record down to 0-5.
Friday's match might be decided in the trenches. Pickerington North has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 189.2 rushing yards per game. It's a different story for Westerville Central, though, as they've been averaging only 49.6. How will they fare against such a dominant running game?
Everything came up roses for Pickerington North against Westerville Central when the teams last played back in October of 2023, as the squad secured a 28-0 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Pickerington North since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
