Two dominant backs in Keenon Johnson and Jason Mcdaniel are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Hawthorne Hornets will take on the Madison County Cowboys at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Hawthorne is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. Everything went their way against Williston as Hawthorne made off with a 28-7 victory. The win was familiar territory for the Hornets who have now won eight contests in a row.
It was another big night for Johnson, who rushed for 172 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 7.2 yards per carry. His rushing production has been exceptional as that marked his eighth straight game with at least 122 rushing yards. The team also got some help courtesy of Adrian Curtis, who threw for 137 yards and a touchdown.
Hawthorne's defense stepped up as well, laying out the QB four times. Ethan Thomas was especially locked on to Williston's QB and sacked him 3.5 times. Another thorn in Williston's side was Jaheim Darby, who picked up 0.5 sacks and made 13 total tackles (3.0 for loss).
Hawthorne was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 200 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 186 rushing yards in three consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, Madison County's offense rose to the challenge against a Fightin' Tigers defense that boasted an average of only 14.25 points allowed on Friday. Madison County put the hurt on Union County with a sharp 34-8 victory. The Cowboys' offense checked out after the first half but had enough points banked to take the game anyway.
Mcdaniel continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 144 yards and three touchdowns on only 14 carries. Another back making a difference was Naquez Christian, who rushed for 125 yards and a touchdown on only eight carries.
Madison County wouldn't let Union County keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Madison County can thank Johnny Norwood and De'Andre Arnold for forcing both of them. Arnold also set a new season high mark in total tackles with 12.
Hawthorne's win was their 12th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 10-1. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 26.2 points. As for Madison County, the victory (which was their fifth in a row) raised their record to 9-3.
Hawthorne beat Madison County 22-13 in their previous meeting back in December of 2023. Does Hawthorne have another victory up their sleeve, or will Madison County turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
