Football Preview: Haywood Tomcats vs. Maplewood Panthers
The Haywood Tomcats's homestand will continue as they prepare to take on the Maplewood Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Last Friday, Haywood was fully in charge, breezing past Obion County 43-13 at home. The Tomcats might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four contests by 30 points or more this season.
Haywood got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Kemonte Williams out in front who rushed for 75 yards and two touchdowns. The team also got some help courtesy of Carson Graves, who threw for 129 yards and two touchdowns on only five passes.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Maplewood). They blew past Glencliff 54-0 at home on Friday. The high-scoring effort was just what the Panthers needed considering they were shutout in their previous matchup.
Maplewood found their leader in underclassman Jayon Washington, who rushed for 64 yards and two touchdowns on only eight carries, and also threw for 99 yards and two touchdowns while completing 80% of his passes. The dominant performance gave Washington a new career-high in rushing yards. Christian Beatie was another key rusher, rushing for 61 yards and two touchdowns.
Maplewood's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Antonio Batey. Another thorn in Glencliff's side was Jaylan Strong, who picked up 0.5 sacks, forced a fumble, and forced a fumble.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Maplewood was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 242 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Haywood pushed their record up to 4-1 with the victory, which was their tenth straight at home dating back to last season. As for Maplewood, their win bumped their record up to 2-3.
Everything came up roses for Haywood against Maplewood in their previous meeting back in September of 2023, as the team secured a 42-0 victory. Does Haywood have another victory up their sleeve, or will Maplewood turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
