After three games on the road, Norland is heading back home. They and the American Heritage Patriots are set to duel on Saturday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Norland's upcoming game probably won't be as stressful as their last, when they took on another nationally ranked opponent: Cocoa, who was ranked 58th at the time (Norland was ranked 32nd). Norland enjoyed a cozy 33-14 win over Cocoa on Friday. The Vikings pushed the score to 27-7 by the end of the third, a deficit the Tigers cut but never quite recovered from.
It was another big night for Ennio Yapoor, who rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns on only 12 carries, and also threw for 245 yards and a touchdown. A healthy portion of that aerial production (80 yards to be exact) went to Jahmari Smith.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Norland was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 271 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in December of 2023.
Norland wouldn't let Cocoa keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Norland can thank Adrian Farrow and Shawn Smith for forcing both of them. Smith also set a new season high mark in total tackles with 12.
Meanwhile, while American Heritage put up plenty of points two weeks ago, the same can't be said for Plantation. American Heritage breezed by Plantation at home to the tune of 35-0. The Patriots' offense checked out after the first half but had enough points banked to take the game anyway.
Dia Bell continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, throwing for 302 yards and four touchdowns while completing 81.8% of his passes. The team also got some help courtesy of Malachi Toney, who picked up 95 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Norland's victory bumped their record up to 5-1. As for American Heritage, the win got them back to even at 3-3.
The upcoming match will be a clash of competing strengths. Norland has relied on air attacks this season and has averaged 277.7 passing yards per game. American Heritage, on the other hand, has relied on a stout run game: they average 158.3 rushing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Saturday? There's only one way to find out.
Norland ended up a good deal behind American Heritage in their previous matchup back in September of 2016, losing 24-6. Will Norland have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other football content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
