Football Preview: Central Red Devils vs. Smiths Station Panthers
Central has gone 10-0 against Smiths Station recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Central Red Devils will square off against the Smiths Station Panthers at 7:00 p.m. Central will be strutting in after a win while Smiths Station will be coming in after a loss.
Smiths Station is hoping to do what Lutheran North couldn't on Friday: put an end to Central's winning streak (dating back to last season), which now stands at 15 games. Central took down Lutheran North 30-12.
Central got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Tristan Williams out in front who rushed for 96 yards and a touchdown. The team also got some help courtesy of Andrew Alford, who threw for 118 yards and two touchdowns.
Another reason for the win was Central's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for seven sacks. In that department, Deontae "Bud" Ware was the leader with two. His also deserves a shoutout for his performance on D, picking up two sacks and making 15 total tackles (2.0 for loss). Central got some further help from Adarius Lee: he picked up a sack, forced two fumbles, and made nine total tackles (3.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, it's never fun to lose, and it's even less fun to lose 36-9, which was the final score in Smiths Station's tilt against Valley on Friday. While losing is never fun, the Panthers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Alabama football rankings (they are ranked 206th, while the Rams are ranked 96th).
Central's win was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 2-0. As for Smiths Station, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-2.
Everything came up roses for Central against Smiths Station in their previous meeting back in September of 2023 as the squad secured a 51-0 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Central since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
