Newark Central hasn't had much luck against Verona recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Blue Devils will challenge the Hillbillies at 7:00 p.m. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Newark Central took a loss when they played away from home two weeks ago, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They walked away with a 28-19 victory over Hudson Catholic.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Verona). They took their game on Saturday with ease, bagging a 34-0 win over Newark Collegiate Academy. The high-flying offensive performance was a huge turnaround for the Hillbillies considering their seven-point performance the matchup before.
Verona's win came from a few key players Newark Central will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was John McEnerney, who threw for 224 yards and three touchdowns while completing 77.8% of his passes. 84 of McEnerney's passing yards were hauled in by Drew Krusznis, who also brought in a receiving touchdown.
On the defensive side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Verona's defense and their 5.5 sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Logan Knoetig and Ryan Cavallo, who racked up four sacks between them. Knoetig is also crushing it when it comes to total tackles: he's made at least six every time he's taken the field this season.
The victory got Newark Central back to even at 2-2. As for Verona, the win also got them back to even at 2-2.
Newark Central couldn't quite get it done against Verona when the teams last played back in September of 2024 as they fell 31-20. Can the Blue Devils avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
