The Mt. Hope Huskies will square off against the East Greenwich Avengers at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Mt. Hope comes in on seven and East Greenwich on three.
Mt. Hope is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Saturday. Everything went their way against Cranston East as they made off with a 32-6 win. The result was nothing new for the Huskies, who have now won four games by 21 points or more so far this season.
Robert Annis was his usual excellent self, rushing for 110 yards and two touchdowns on only 15 carries. Another player making a difference was Tyler Rhynard, who rushed for 80 yards.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Mt. Hope was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 305 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 170 rushing yards in seven consecutive contests.
Mt. Hope didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Logan Curria and Chase Savinon.
Meanwhile, East Greenwich faced Ponaganset in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Friday. The Avengers claimed a resounding 35-0 victory over the Chieftains. The Avengers' offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.
East Greenwich's win came from a few key players Mt. Hope will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Owen Lehne, who threw for 257 yards and three TDs on only 18 passes. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in passer rating (149.3). Spencer Padula helped Lehne out on the ground, picking up 83 receiving yards and one score, while also rushing for 55 yards.
East Greenwich's win bumped their record up to 6-4. As for Mt. Hope, their victory bumped their record up to 7-2.
Saturday's matchup might be decided in the trenches. Mt. Hope has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 233.9 rushing yards per game. It's a different story for East Greenwich, though, as they've been averaging only 79.6 rushing yards. How will they fare against such a dominant running game?
Mt. Hope strolled past East Greenwich in their previous matchup back in September by a score of 28-13. Will the Huskies repeat their success, or do the Avengers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
