Football Preview: Monrovia Bulldogs vs. Speedway Sparkplugs
Two dominant backs in Ryder Pool and Jazz Coleman are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Monrovia Bulldogs will head out on the road to take on the Speedway Sparkplugs at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Monrovia has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 134 points over their last three matchups.
Monrovia is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They simply couldn't be stopped on Friday as they easily beat Beech Grove 55-22 at home. The Bulldogs pushed the score to 55-16 by the end of the third, a deficit the Hornets cut but never quite recovered from.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Monrovia to victory, but perhaps none more so than Pool, who rushed for 64 yards and a touchdown on only five carries, and also picked up 31 receiving yards. Pool also deserves a shoutout for his performance on D, making three total tackles and defending two passes in addition to snagging an interception. Jozy Hand handled things on the ground, rushing for 113 yards.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Monrovia was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 480 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 182 rushing yards in 17 consecutive contests dating back to last season.
One reason for the win was Monrovia's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for four sacks. Korbin Monroe was especially locked on to Beech Grove's QB and sacked him three times.
Meanwhile, Speedway unfortunately witnessed the end of their three-game winning streak on Friday. They took a 21-15 hit to the loss column at the hands of Indianapolis Scecina Memorial. The defeat continues a trend for the Sparkplugs in their matchups with the Crusaders: they've now lost three in a row.
Speedway's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. The picks came courtesy of JaRonn Smith and Cameren Biggs. Dawson Ott was another major factor on D, picking up three sacks and making nine total tackles.
Monrovia pushed their record up to 4-1 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. As for Speedway, their loss dropped their record down to 3-2.
Friday's match might be decided in the on the ground. Monrovia has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 383.2 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Speedway struggles in that department as they've been averaging 151.8. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Monrovia strolled past Speedway in their previous matchup back in October of 2023 by a score of 20-3. Will Monrovia repeat their success, or does Speedway have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
