Football Game Preview: Miramar Patriots vs. Westwood Panthers

After each having a week off, the Miramar Patriots and the Westwood Panthers will shake off the cobwebs and hit the field against one another at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this game.

Miramar is likely headed into the contest with a focus on the second half, which is when things went downhill against Cardinal Gibbons last Thursday. The Patriots fell 35-28 to the Chiefs. The Patriots gained 711 more yards on the day, but it was the Chiefs that made the best use of them.

Meanwhile, after soaring to 36 points the game before, Westwood was a bit more limited in their matchup last Friday. They took a 14-6 hit to the loss column at the hands of Central. While losing is never fun, the Panthers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida football rankings (they are ranked 274th, while the Cobras are ranked 92nd).

Even if they lost, Westwood's defense still kept up the pressure with three sacks. Leading the way was Gregory Merrick with two. He is becoming a predictor of Westwood's success: when he posts at least two sacks the team is 2-1 (and 3-4 when he doesn't).

Miramar's defeat dropped their record down to 4-6. As for Westwood, their loss dropped their record down to 5-5.