Lakeland and Hillcrest squared off in some playoff action on Friday, but Lakeland had to settle for second. They received a blow as they fell 42-28 to the Hillcrest Knights. The defensive woes were uncharacteristic for the Hawks, who until this contest were averaging 14.42 points allowed.
When it comes to explaining why Lakeland lost, don't look at Kage (Lovie) Weil. Despite the final result, he rushed for 181 yards and four touchdowns. Weil's rushing production has been exceptional as that marked his eighth straight game with at least 129 rushing yards.
Even though they lost, Lakeland was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 246 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 221 rushing yards in three consecutive games.
Leading Hillcrest to victory were Tyson Sweetwood and Titan Larsen. Sweetwood punched in two touchdowns rushing scores, while Larsen rushed for 54 yards and two touchdowns.
Lakeland moved to 9-3 with that defeat, which also ended their six-game winning streak. As for Hillcrest, they are on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight matches, which provided a nice bump to their 9-3 record this season.
Lakeland does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for Hillcrest, they will face off against Skyline at 8:15 p.m. on Friday. Hillcrest knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 31 points or more in their past five matchups -- so hopefully Skyline likes a good challenge.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
