Two dominant backs in Calvin Hughley and Mike Jones are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Opelika Bulldogs will venture away from home to face off against the Pike Road Patriots at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Opelika's defense has only allowed 12.2 points per game this season, so Pike Road's offense will have their work cut out for them.
Opelika's defense heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They blew past Smiths Station 50-0 at home. The Bulldogs might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won three contests by 35 points or more this season.
Opelika's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Hughley, who rushed for 57 yards and two touchdowns, and Colby Key, who threw for 154 yards and two touchdowns while completing 71.4% of his passes. Tommie Johnson was another key rusher, rushing for 23 yards and two touchdowns.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Opelika was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 224 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 166 rushing yards in five consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, Pike Road had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 13 points) and they went ahead and made it three on Friday. They secured a 39-35 W over the Phoenix.
Pike Road can attribute much of their success to Cason Myers, who threw for 284 yards and three touchdowns, and Jones, who rushed for 76 yards and two touchdowns. The dominant performance also gave Myers a new career-high in rushing yards. 88 of those passing yards were hauled in by Levi Kelly.
Another reason for the win was Pike Road's imposing defensive line, which managed to get into the backfield for seven sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Amari Smith and Corey Tims, who racked up six sacks between them. Tims is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made five or more in the last five games he's played dating back to last season.
Opelika pushed their record up to 4-1 with the win, which was their third straight at home. As for Pike Road, they now have a winning record of 3-2.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps