Football Preview: Southridge Raiders vs. Pike Central Chargers
Southridge has gone 10-0 against Pike Central recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Southridge Raiders' road trip will continue as they head out to face the Pike Central Chargers at 7:30 p.m. Southridge will be strutting in after a win while Pike Central will be coming in after a defeat.
Southridge's defense heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They blew past Tecumseh, posting a 56-0 victory on the road. Given the Raiders' advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana football rankings (they are ranked 98th, while the Braves are ranked 293rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Southridge's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Rolan Whitehead, who rushed for 74 yards and a touchdown. Whitehead got the majority of those rushing yards when he took off on a run and that went for an incredible 61 yards. Noah Wright also helped with two touchdowns in total.
Another reason for the win was Southridge's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for three sacks. Eli Meyer was especially locked on to Tecumseh's QB and sacked him twice. Meyer also deserves a shoutout for his performance on D, picking up two sacks and making five total tackles (2.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, it's never fun to lose, and it's even less fun to lose 56-27, which was the final score in Pike Central's tilt against Mt. Vernon on Friday. The Chargers have struggled against the Wildcats recently, as their game on Friday was their third consecutive lost matchup.
Southridge now has a winning record of 2-1. As for Pike Central, their loss dropped their record down to an identical 2-1.
Everything came up roses for Southridge against Pike Central in their previous meeting back in September of 2023 as the squad secured a 49-12 victory. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Pike Central's Julian Gish, who picked up 80 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Now that he won't be playing on Friday, will it be easier for Southridge to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
