Preview: Paul W. Bryant Stampede vs. Hillcrest Patriots
Paul W. Bryant is 1-8 against Hillcrest since October of 2014 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Paul W. Bryant Stampede are on the road again and play against the Hillcrest Patriots at 7:00 p.m. on October 20th. Paul W. Bryant will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Alabama Rankings (they are ranked 155th, while Hillcrest is ranked sixth).
Even though Brookwood scored an imposing 35 points on Friday, Paul W. Bryant still came out on top. Paul W. Bryant took their match against Brookwood 45-35.
Paul W. Bryant's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Edwin Merriweather led the charge by throwing for 228 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 11.4 yards per attempt. Paul W. Bryant also got help from Braelyn Gray who showed off his sure hands for 85 receiving yards.
Paul W. Bryant's defensive line stepped up as well, laying out the QB seven times. The heavy lifting was done by Miles Madden and Boris Rhodes who racked up four sacks between them.
Meanwhile, Hillcrest put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their undefeated season alive. They took their game on the road with ease, bagging a 28-0 win over Bessemer City. Fans of Hillcrest have seen this all before: every one of the games they've played this season ended as a blowout.
Paul W. Bryant's win on Friday bumped their record up to 3-4. As for Hillcrest, their victory was their ninth straight on the road (dating back to last season), which bumped their overall record up to 8-0.
Paul W. Bryant took a serious blow against Hillcrest when the teams last played back in October of 2022, falling 56-13. Can Paul W. Bryant avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
