Vernon Hills is 8-0 against Maine East since October of 2016, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Vernon Hills Cougars will look to defend their home field against the Maine East Blue Demons at 7:00 p.m. Vernon Hills will come in still looking for their first win of the season.
Vernon Hills is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They were outmatched by Hoffman Estates at home and fell 56-21. The Cougars were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 49-7.
Despite the defeat, Vernon Hills had strong showings from Giuseppe Urso, who rushed for 92 yards and two touchdowns, and Quami Ray, who rushed for 51 yards. The dominant performance gave Ray a new career-high in rushing yards.
Even though they lost, Vernon Hills was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 261 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 186 rushing yards in four consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Maine East entered their match against Wheeling on Friday without any home losses, but there's a first time for everything. Maine East fell just short of Wheeling by a score of 17-14. The loss continues a trend for the Blue Demons in their matchups with the Wildcats: they've now lost four in a row.
Vernon Hills' defeat dropped their record down to 0-4. As for Maine East, their loss dropped their record down to 2-2.
Friday's contest might be decided in the trenches. Vernon Hills has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 215.5 rushing yards per game. It's a different story for Maine East, though, as they've been averaging only 73.8. How will they fare against such a dominant running game?
Vernon Hills strolled past Maine East in their previous matchup back in September of 2023 by a score of 24-6. Does Vernon Hills have another victory up their sleeve, or will Maine East turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
