Preview: Lowellville Rockets vs. Western Reserve Blue Devils
Lowellville has enjoyed a two-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will challenge The Western Reserve Blue Devils at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Last Friday, Lowellville got themselves on the board against Catholic Central, but Catholic Central never followed suit. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat the Crusaders 34-0 at home. Given Lowellville's advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio football rankings (they are ranked 249th, while Catholic Central is ranked 527th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Michael Ballone continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 161 yards and two touchdowns on only seven carries, while also throwing for 200 yards and three touchdowns. Ballone really tore up the turf during one magnificent 89-yard run. Mathew Lucido did his part to keep the secondary busy, picking up 87 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Lowellville's defense stepped up as well, laying out the QB seven times. It was a group effort, with three guys contributing.
Meanwhile, Western Reserve entered their tilt with David Anderson with three consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with four. Western Reserve breezed by David Anderson at home to the tune of 54-20. Western Reserve pushed the score to 40-20 by the end of the third, a deficit David Anderson had little chance of recovering from.
Western Reserve's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Nathan Hemberger, who rushed for 138 yards and six touchdowns while picking up 8.1 yards per carry. Luke Henning was another key contributor, rushing for 157 yards while picking up 9.8 yards per carry.
Lowellville's win was their fifth straight at home, bumping their overall record up to 10-1. It's not like the team was facing easy opposition over that stretch either, as it included 8-3 Springfield and 7-4 Jackson-Milton (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 65.5% over those games). As for Western Reserve, their win bumped their record up to 9-2.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's game: Lowellville has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 200.5 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Western Reserve struggles in that department as they've been even better at 207 per game. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Lowellville came up short against Western Reserve when the teams last played back in September, falling 21-14. Can Lowellville avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
