Two dominant backs in Darrion Manuel and Amari Latimer are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Monroe Area Purple Hurricanes will head out on the road to face off against the Sandy Creek Patriots at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Both teams come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Friday, Monroe Area beat Hart County 23-14. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Monroe Area.
Manuel was his usual excellent self, rushing for 167 yards while picking up 7.3 yards per carry. Luke Butler made the highlight reel by snagging an interception and taking it all the way to the house.
Meanwhile, Sandy Creek slipped by Douglass 22-21 on Thursday. The win was just what Sandy Creek needed coming off of a 31-7 defeat in their prior contest.
Sandy Creek found their leader in underclassman Latimer, who rushed for 204 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 7.0 yards per carry.
The team's defense also helped out by holding Douglass to a paltry 217 yards. A big part of that defensive dominance came down to Sandy Creek's ability to keep the quarterback under pressure: the team laid him out three times before it was all said and done. Evan Harvey was especially locked on to Douglass' QB and sacked him twice.
Monroe Area has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matches, which provided a nice bump to their 6-4 record this season. As for Sandy Creek, they pushed their record up to 7-3 with that win, which was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season.
Friday's matchup might be decided on the ground as these two are both standouts in the run game. Monroe Area has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 199 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Sandy Creek struggles in that department as they've been even better at 230.7 per game. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches. Come back here after the game to get analysis of the match and other football content.
