Football Preview: Paxton-Buckley-Loda Panthers vs. Durand/Pecatonica Rivermen
After two games on the road, Paxton-Buckley-Loda is heading back home. They will square off against the Durand/Pecatonica Rivermen at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Paxton-Buckley-Loda is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 29 points per game this season.
Paxton-Buckley-Loda is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Saturday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 22-20 win over Monmouth-Roseville. The victory was some much needed relief for the Panthers as it spelled an end to their three-game losing streak.
The match pitted two dominant backs against one another in Robert Boyd-Meents and Payton Thompson. Boyd-Meents had a great game and rushed for 159 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 8.4 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Thompson was balling out in the loss, rushing for 89 yards and two touchdowns.
Paxton-Buckley-Loda was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 227 rushing yards. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their rushing yard total in three consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Durand/Pecatonica). They never let Genoa-Kingston onto the board and left with a 66-0 win on Saturday. Given the Rivermen's advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois football rankings (they are ranked 55th, while the Cogs are ranked 224th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Cooper Hoffman, who threw for 163 yards and four touchdowns while completing 90.9% of his passes, and also rushed for 44 yards and a touchdown. He has been hot recently, having posted four or more passing touchdowns the last three times he's played. Jaxon Diedrich was in the mix as well, providing Durand/Pecatonica with two touchdowns.
The victory (which was Durand/Pecatonica's fourth in a row) raised their record to 9-1. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 32.2 points. As for Paxton-Buckley-Loda, their record now sits at 7-3.
Saturday's game might be decided in the on the ground. Paxton-Buckley-Loda has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 183.3 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Durand/Pecatonica struggles in that department as they've been averaging 265.3. It's looking like Saturday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more football content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
