The Hartland Eagles are taking a road trip to face off against the Northville Mustangs at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Hartland is headed into the game out to prove that what happened against Howell on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. The Eagles were dealt a 35-7 loss at the hands of the Highlanders. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest defeat the Eagles have suffered against the Highlanders since September 21, 2018.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Northville, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Friday. They simply couldn't be stopped on Friday as they easily beat Canton 63-0. The matchup marked the Mustangs' most dominant win of the season.
Hartland better keep an eye on Cooper Derkach. He was instrumental in Northville's win, throwing for 141 yards and a pair of touchdowns while completing 80% of his passes, and also punching in one TD on the ground. The dominant performance also gave Derkach a new career-high in passer rating (160.4). Brayden Tuiasosopo also helped with two scores in total.
Northville was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 251 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Northville didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Robbie Kehoe and Chase Gilbertson. Kehoe has been hot recently, having also posted six or more total tackles the last three times he's played. MJ Fortuna was another major factor on D, forcing two fumbles and making ten total tackles (2.5 for loss).
Northville pushed their record up to 5-1 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 45.3 points over those games. As for Hartland, their loss dropped their record down to 3-3.
Things could have been worse for Hartland, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 38-21 loss to Northville in their previous meeting back in October of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Derkach, who threw for 145 yards and three touchdowns, and also rushed for 33 yards. Now that the Eagles know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
