Preview: Frankford Pioneers vs. Northeast Vikings
Frankford is 7-1 against Northeast since December of 2014, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Monday. The Frankford Pioneers will look to defend their home court against the Northeast Vikings at 4:30 p.m. Frankford will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Pennsylvania Rankings (they are ranked 446th, while Northeast is ranked 94th).
Last Thursday, Frankford came up short against Academy at Palumbo and fell 56-49.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the most dominant came from Zaire Washington, who scored 11 points along with nine rebounds. Another player making a difference was Brandon Gage, who scored ten points.
Meanwhile, Northeast entered their tilt with Paul Robeson with 12 consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with 13. Northeast took down Paul Robeson 69-55 on Thursday. Having run the score up that high, both teams might be doing some extra defensive drills very soon.
It was another big night for Darrius Gaeta, who scored 12 points along with nine rebounds and eight assists. Michael Freeman was another key contributor, scoring ten points along with seven assists.
Frankford's defeat dropped their record down to 5-10. As for Northeast, they pushed their record up to 14-1 with that win, which was their eighth straight at home.
Monday's game is shaping up to be a scrappy match: Frankford have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 29.9 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Northeast struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 31.3 rebounds per game. Given Frankford's sizeable advantage in that area, Northeast will need to find a way to close that gap.
Frankford took their victory against Northeast in their previous matchup back in January of 2023 by a conclusive 59-35. Does Frankford have another victory up their sleeve, or will Northeast turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
