Football Game Preview: Harding Skippers vs. Pymatuning Valley Lakers

Harding hasn't had much luck against Pymatuning Valley recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Skippers will be playing at home against the Lakers at 7:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Pymatuning Valley will be up against a hot Harding squad: the team just extended their winning streak to four. The Skippers really took it to Mathews for the full four quarters, racking up a 48-0 victory. The contest was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point the Skippers had established a 42-point advantage.

Yomar Castellano

Receiving Yards

09/19/25 @ Mathews	156
09/06/25 @ Buckeye Central	108
08/29/25 vs David Anderson	104
08/22/25 vs Cambridge Springs	52

A big part of Harding's win came down to the chemistry between Brady Lawson and his top target Yomar Castellano. Lawson threw for 317 yards and six touchdowns while picking up 10.9 yards per attempt while Castellano picked up 156 receiving yards and four scores. With that strong performance, Castellano is now averaging an impressive 105 receiving yards per game.

Special teams was a major factor in the game for Harding, racking up 12 points in total. The biggest highlight from special teams (and perhaps the team as a whole) came courtesy of Jan Castellano, who ran a punt back for a touchdown.

Harding's defense made their presence known, laying out the QB three times. Elijah Harless was particularly dangerous to the passing game, picking up two sacks himself. He has been hot, having also posted five or more total tackles the last five times he's played.

Meanwhile, everything came up roses for Pymatuning Valley against St. John on Friday as the team secured a 52-14 victory. The Lakers haven't had any issues with the Fighting Herald recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive win against them.

Pymatuning Valley's victory bumped their record up to 4-1. As for Harding, their win bumped their record up to 4-0.

Harding was taken down by Pymatuning Valley 38-0 in their previous matchup back in October of 2024. Will the Skippers have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other football content.