Football Preview: Laurel Highlands Mustangs vs. Southmoreland Scotties
The Laurel Highlands Mustangs will face off against the Southmoreland Scotties at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Laurel Highlands is looking to give their home crowd another W after opening their season at home last Friday. They were the clear victor by a 45-20 margin over Uniontown. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest win the Mustangs have posted since August 25, 2023.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Laurel Highlands to victory, but perhaps none more so than Noah Lion, who rushed for 98 yards and a touchdown on only ten carries, and also threw for 88 yards and two touchdowns on only six passes. Lion's also deserves a shoutout for his performance on D, picking up a sack and making four total tackles. Gio Guerriere was another key back, rushing for 39 yards and two touchdowns.
Laurel Highlands wouldn't let Uniontown keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force three fumbles. Laurel Highlands can thank Parker Hoff and Mark Reed for forcing all of them. Hoff also put in work on the defensive side of the ball, forcing two fumbles and making ten total tackles (4.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, Southmoreland was fully in charge on Friday, breezing past East Allegheny 49-14 at home. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Scotties.
Elliot Premus had a dynamite game for Southmoreland, picking up 127 receiving yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 71 yards and a touchdown. Premus was no stranger to the big play, lighting up the secondary with a catch that went for 62 yards. Another player making a difference was Anthony Smith, who threw for 189 yards and three touchdowns.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Southmoreland was moving up and down the field and finished the game with 444 total yards. That's the most total yards they've posted since back in September of 2023.
Southmoreland's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged four passes before it was all said and done. The picks came courtesy of Dawson Wolfe and Averyon Darnell. Darnell didn't just play on offense: he also made two total tackles and defended three passes in addition to snagging two interceptions.
Laurel Highlands beat Southmoreland 28-21 in their previous matchup back in September of 2021. Does Laurel Highlands have another victory up their sleeve, or will Southmoreland turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
