Westmont Hilltop and Penn Cambria are an even 5-5 against one another since October of 2014, but not for long. The Westmont Hilltop Hilltoppers will look to defend their home field on Friday against the Penn Cambria Panthers at 7:00 p.m. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Westmont Hilltop has struggled recently with ten losses in a row, while Penn Cambria will arrive with five straight victories.
Westmont Hilltop came up short against Greater Johnstown on Saturday, falling 42-21. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest defeat the Hilltoppers have suffered against the Trojans since September 16, 2017.
Despite the loss, Westmont Hilltop saw an underclassman step up: Bryce Goodman rushed for 82 yards and a touchdown. Goodman showed off some serious burst, cutting through the defense on one rush that went for 53 yards.
Even though they lost, Westmont Hilltop was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 261 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 175 rushing yards in six consecutive contests dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Penn Cambria). They simply couldn't be stopped on Friday as they easily beat Central Cambria 36-0 at home. Given the Panthers' advantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania football rankings (they are ranked 95th, while the Red Devils are ranked 456th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Penn Cambria's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Thomas Plunkett, who rushed for 72 yards and two touchdowns, and Brady Jones, who rushed for 115 yards and a touchdown on only 15 carries. The dominant performance gave Jones a new career-high in rushing yards.
On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Penn Cambria's defense and their three sacks. Mason Mento was especially locked on to Central Cambria's QB and sacked him twice.
Westmont Hilltop's defeat dropped their record down to 0-5. As for Penn Cambria, their win was their ninth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 5-0.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Westmont Hilltop has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 247.8 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Penn Cambria struggles in that department as they've been averaging 249.4. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Westmont Hilltop was taken down by Penn Cambria 39-0 when the teams last played back in September of 2023. Will Westmont Hilltop have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other football content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
