Football Preview: Newfane Panthers vs. Akron Tigers
After two games on the road, Newfane is heading back home. They will host the Akron Tigers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Newfane's defense heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. They blew past Barker/Royalton-Hartland, posting a 47-0 win on the road. Given the Panthers' advantage in MaxPreps' New York football rankings (they are ranked 157th, while the Bulls are ranked 529th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Mac Capen was nothing short of spectacular: he rushed for 149 yards and two touchdowns on only eight carries. He really tore up the turf during one magnificent 70-yard run.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Newfane was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 374 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted was before the start of last season.
Meanwhile, Akron put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They breezed by Western New York Maritime Charter/Tapestry at home to the tune of 41-14. Fans of the Tigers have seen this all before: every one of the games they've played this season has ended in a blowout of 20+ points.
Newfane's victory bumped their record up to 3-0. As for Akron, their win bumped their record up to an identical 3-0.
Newfane strolled past Akron in their previous matchup back in September of 2023 by a score of 26-7. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Akron's Coy Patterson, who threw for 178 yards and a touchdown, and also rushed for 54 yards. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Newfane still be able to contain Patterson? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
