The New Castle Hurricanes will head out on the road to take on the Blackhawk Cougars at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. New Castle's defense has only allowed 9.8 points per game this season, so Blackhawk's offense will have their work cut out for them.
New Castle is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They simply couldn't be stopped on Friday as they easily beat Ambridge 56-7. The result was nothing new for the Hurricanes, who have now won five games by 20 points or more so far this season.
Marino Graham
| 09/12/25 vs Yough | 177.1 |
| 10/17/25 @ Ambridge | 154.7 |
| 08/22/25 vs Penn Hills | 122.9 |
| 10/03/25 vs Montour | 110.6 |
| 09/05/25 @ Highlands | 108.6 |
| + 4 more games |
Marino Graham had another great game (as he tends to do), throwing for 174 yards and two TDs while completing 81.2% of his passes, and also rushing for 111 yards on only 12 carries. His passing game has become a key predictor of New Castle's success: the team is undefeated when his passer rating is 100 or higher, but only 1-2 otherwise.
Meanwhile, Blackhawk played a tough contest on Friday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They had to suffer through a 40-10 loss at the hands of West Allegheny. While losing is never fun, the Cougars can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania football rankings (they are ranked 237th, while the Indians are ranked 92nd).
New Castle will have to contain Brayden McCarthy as he made an impact in Blackhawk's last game. He rushed for 77 yards and one touchdown.
Even if they lost, Blackhawk's defensive line still kept up the pressure with four sacks. Leading the way was Jameson Feeley with 2.5. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 5.1 total tackles per game.
New Castle pushed their record up to 7-2 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road. The road wins came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 2.3 points on average over those games. As for Blackhawk, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 3-6.
Friday's matchup might be decided on the ground. New Castle has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 188.4 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Blackhawk struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 232.4 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's game turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Everything came up roses for New Castle against Blackhawk in their previous meeting back in October of 2024, as the team secured a 50-14 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Hurricanes since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
