Football Preview: Huntington Raiders vs. Hammond Tornadoes
The Huntington Raiders will venture away from home to square off against the Hammond Tornadoes at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: both posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Last Thursday, Huntington was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 59-54 to Airline. While losing is never fun, the Raiders can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Louisiana football rankings (they are ranked 52nd, while the Vikings are ranked eighth).
Despite the loss, Huntington had strong showings from Jamarion Washington, who gained 246 total yards and four touchdowns, and Landon Gibbs, who threw for 196 yards and four touchdowns on only 17 passes. Huntington is 4-1 when Gibbs posts three or more passing touchdowns, but 1-4 otherwise. Tyler Welch was in the mix too, providing Huntington with two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Hammond beat Ponchatoula 33-25 on Friday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Tornadoes.
Zalen Bennett was his usual excellent self, rushing for 158 yards and three touchdowns. That's the most rushing yards he has posted since back in September. Broderick Peters was another major influence, as he rushed for 62 yards and ran in a TD.
Hammond was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 227 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 166 rushing yards in nine consecutive games.
Hammond didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Kenyatta Fleet and Javion Thomas. Thomas also set a new season high mark in total tackles with ten.
Huntington has traveled a rocky road recently having lost four of their last five matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-5 record this season. As for Hammond, their victory bumped their record up to 6-4.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
