vs
| 10/04/24 - Home | 44-7 W |
| 09/22/23 - Home | 41-7 W |
| 09/23/22 - Away | 35-6 W |
| 09/24/21 - Home | 67-0 W |
| 09/04/20 - Away | 49-0 W |
| 10/16/15 - Home | 42-14 W |
Pickerington Central is a perfect 6-0 against Newark since October of 2015 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Friday. The Tigers will square off against the Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. The two teams might be coming in a bit winded given these two teams combined for 1,081 yards in their previous games.
Newark will take on a team with plenty of momentum: Pickerington Central extended their winning streak to three on Friday. The Tigers blew past Lancaster 63-27. The final result isn't all that surprising considering the Tigers' considerable advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio football rankings (they are ranked 15th, while the Golden Gales are ranked 269th).
Rocco Williams had another great game (as he tends to do), throwing for 340 yards and seven TDs while completing 77.3% of his passes. Rj Parker was Williams' top target, picking up 83 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Pickerington Central was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 242 rushing yards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Lancaster only rushed for 145.
Meanwhile, Newark was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Friday as they fell 45-41 to Canal Winchester. The Wildcats have struggled against the Indians recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive lost matchup.
Pickerington Central will have to contain Bodie Smith as he made an impact in Newark's last game. He threw for 330 yards and four TDs while picking up 14.3 yards per attempt, and also punched in one rushing score. Newark is 2-1 when Smith posts 250 or more passing yards, but 1-2 otherwise. 81 of Smith's passing yards were hauled in by Jason Giblin, who also brought in a receiving touchdown.
Newark's defeat dropped their record down to 3-3. As for Pickerington Central, their victory bumped their record up to 5-1.
Friday's matchup will pit two of the most dominant signal callers against one another: Williams and Smith. Williams just won't slow down this season and has thrown 16 touchdowns while averaging 213.7 passing yards per game. Smith has been a dominant force too and has thrown 20 touchdowns while averaging 266.5 passing yards per game.
Everything came up roses for Pickerington Central against Newark in their previous matchup back in October of 2024, as the squad secured a 44-7 win. In that game, the Tigers amassed a halftime lead of 35-0, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.
