Maplewood entered their game against Stratford on Friday without any home losses, but there's a first time for everything. The Maplewood Panthers took a 27-20 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Stratford Spartans. The result was an unpleasant reminder to the Panthers of the 40-20 loss they experienced in the pair's previous head-to-head fixture back in October of 2023.
Despite the defeat, Maplewood saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Christian Beatie rushed for 26 yards and two touchdowns. Beatie is becoming a predictor of Maplewood's success: when he posts at least two rushing touchdowns the team is 2-1 (and 1-3 when he doesn't). Speaking of playmakers, who could forget Marianta Waters, who went all the way with a kickoff return for a touchdown.
Stratford was led to victory by Alterion Frazier and Vantrease White Jr.. Frazier rushed for 120 yards and two touchdowns, while White Jr. gained 180 total yards. That's the most rushing yards Frazier has posted since back in November of 2023.
Maplewood now has a losing record at 3-4. As for Stratford, their record is now 4-5.
Maplewood didn't take long to hit the field again: they've already played their next contest, a 33-28 loss against Liberty Creek on the 25th. As for Stratford, they also wasted no time getting back out on the field and have already played their next match, a 38-13 defeat against Overton on the 24th.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
