Football Preview: Hawthorne Hornets vs. Zephyrhills Christian Academy Warriors
After each having a week off, the Hawthorne Hornets and the Zephyrhills Christian Academy Warriors will dust off their jerseys to take on one another at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Hawthorne will be looking to keep their nine-game home win streak dating back to last season alive.
Last Friday, Hawthorne didn't have too much breathing room in their matchup against South Sumter, but they still walked away with a 26-20 win. The 26-point effort marked the Hornets' lowest-scoring match of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.
It was another big night for Keenon Johnson, who rushed for 225 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 10.7 yards per carry. His longest rush was for an incredible 71 yards.
Hawthorne was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 220 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in September of 2023.
Meanwhile, Zephyrhills Christian Academy had to suffer through a 50-19 loss at the hands of Flagler Palm Coast. While losing is never fun, the Warriors can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida football rankings (they are ranked 373rd, while the Bulldogs are ranked 99th).
Despite the defeat, Zephyrhills Christian Academy got top-tier performance from Jadon Olaffson, who threw for 262 yards and two touchdowns while completing 80% of his passes. Kendall Johnson was Olaffson's top target, picking up 108 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Hawthorne's victory bumped their record up to 4-1. As for Zephyrhills Christian Academy, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 1-3.
Friday's game might be decided in the trenches. Hawthorne has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 157.8 rushing yards per game. It's a different story for Zephyrhills Christian Academy, though, as they've been averaging only 83.8. How will they fare against such a dominant running game? 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
