Football Game Preview: Wayne Hills Patriots vs. Sparta Spartans

The Wayne Hills Patriots will face off against the Sparta Spartans at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

Wayne Hills took a loss when they played away from home two weeks ago, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Millburn 42-7. The result was nothing new for the Patriots, who have now won six games by 21 points or more so far this season.

DAVID VAN HOOK had another great game (as he tends to do), picking up 115 receiving yards and three scores. That's the most receiving touchdowns he has posted since back in August. ETHAN ZACHARSKI was in the mix too, providing Wayne Hills with two TDs.

Meanwhile, Sparta strolled past Jefferson Township with points to spare on Friday, taking the game 54-35. Given the Spartans' advantage in MaxPreps' New Jersey football rankings (they are ranked 109th, while the Falcons are ranked 232nd) , the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Sparta found their leader in sophomore Jace Stainsen, who rushed for 141 yards and three touchdowns on only seven carries. The team also got some help courtesy of Shane Hoover, who threw for 207 yards and three TDs while completing 73.7% of his passes.

Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something Sparta proved: they limited Jefferson Township to a paltry 3.3 yards per carry. The Spartans didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged nine.

Sparta didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Brady Shagawat and Le-Shem Little.

Wayne Hills pushed their record up to 7-2 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 11.8 points on average over those games. As for Sparta, their record now sits at 6-3.