After flying high against East Chicago Central last Friday, Hammond Central came back down to earth. The Hammond Central Wolves lost 48-26 to the Hanover Central Wildcats on Friday. While losing is never fun, the Wolves can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana football rankings (they are ranked 211th, while the Wildcats are ranked 84th).
When it comes to explaining why Hammond Central lost, don't look at Davion Terry. Despite the final result, he rushed for 171 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 10.1 yards per carry, and also threw for two yards and a touchdown. Terry was no stranger to the big play, turning on the jets for a run that went for 68 yards. Travon McCullough was another key player, gaining 159 total yards and two touchdowns.
Even though they lost, Hammond Central was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 298 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 168 rushing yards in nine consecutive matches.
Caiden Verrett was his usual excellent self, rushing for 134 yards and four touchdowns on only 13 carries, while also picking up 45 receiving yards and a touchdown for Hanover Central. Another player making a difference was Tommy Bonner, who threw for 227 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 11.4 yards per attempt.
Hammond Central has been struggling recently as they've lost four of their last five contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 3-6 record this season. As for Hanover Central, their win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 7-2.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Hammond Central will have a little extra prep time after the defeat as they won't be playing again for a while. They'll take on Merrillville at 7:00 p.m. on November 1st. Merrillville is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 26.6 points per game this season. As for Hanover Central, a feisty cat fight will be fought when Wildcats challenges East Chicago Central at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Hanover Central also hasn't been messing around on offense: they've averged 36.9 points per game.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
