Grove City is on a three-game streak of home wins, while Pickerington North is on a three-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Grove City Greyhounds will host the Pickerington North Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Grove City's defense heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They breezed by Westerville Central at home to the tune of 35-0. Given the Greyhounds' advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio football rankings (they are ranked 71st, while the Warhawks are ranked 396th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Grove City can attribute much of their success to Ayden Mckinstry, who gained 184 total yards and three touchdowns, and Carson Welsh, who threw for 282 yards and three touchdowns. The team also got some help courtesy of Parker Toadvine, who picked up 78 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Grove City didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Ty Poole and Gabriel Adrovet.
Meanwhile, Pickerington North won against Westerville Central last Friday with 42 points and they decided to stick to that point total again on Friday. Pickerington North claimed a resounding 42-0 win over Central Crossing at home. The contest was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point the Panthers had established a 35 point advantage.
Pickerington North's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Michael Taylor, who rushed for 124 yards and a touchdown on only 13 carries. Another player making a difference was Jarin Mock, who threw for 209 yards and three touchdowns on only 16 passes.
Pickerington North's defense stepped up as well, laying out the QB seven times. The heavy lifting was done by Malachi Ervin and Elijah Durham-Smith, who racked up four sacks between them.
Grove City's victory bumped their record up to 6-1. As for Pickerington North, their win bumped their record up to an identical 6-1.
Friday's match might be decided in the on the ground. Grove City has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 157.6 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Pickerington North struggles in that department as they've been averaging 185.9. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Grove City was taken down by Pickerington North 48-10 when the teams last played back in October of 2023. Thankfully for Grove City, Landon O'Connell (who threw for 248 yards and four touchdowns while completing 80% of his passes) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
