Football Preview: Florence Huskies vs. Woodland Park Panthers
Florence has enjoyed a three-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will take on the Woodland Park Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Florence is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They breezed by Banning Lewis Academy at home to the tune of 28-0 on Friday. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest victory the Huskies have posted since October 6, 2023.
It was another big night for Noah Howard, who rushed for 205 yards and a touchdown while picking up 8.2 yards per carry, and also threw for 33 yards and a touchdown. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in rushing yards. Another player making a difference was Brady Hunsberger, who rushed for 59 yards and two touchdowns.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Florence was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 286 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 151 rushing yards in seven consecutive contests dating back to last season.
Florence didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Makai Hight and Jaret Lozano.
Meanwhile, Woodland Park put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They managed a 24-20 win over Lamar. The 24-point effort marked the Panthers' lowest-scoring game of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.
Marqus Joseph Schoenberger continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, throwing for 170 yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing for 30 yards. He also put in work on the defensive side of the ball, making six total tackles and defending two passes.
Another reason for the win was Woodland Park's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for four sacks. Matteo Pizarro was particularly dangerous to the passing game, picking up twohimself. He is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made five or more in the last four games he's played dating back to last season. Woodland Park got some further help from Parker Shreeve: he forced a fumble, made seven total tackles (1.0 for loss), and defended three passes.
Florence's victory bumped their record up to 2-4. As for Woodland Park, they pushed their record up to 6-0 with the win, which was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season.
Friday's match might be decided in the on the ground. Florence has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 203.8 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Woodland Park struggles in that department as they've been averaging 176.8. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Everything went Florence's way against Woodland Park in their previous matchup back in September of 2023, as Florence made off with a 26-2 victory. Does Florence have another victory up their sleeve, or will Woodland Park turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
