The Patton Panthers are taking a road trip to challenge the R-S Central Hilltoppers at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Patton took a loss when they played away from home last Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. Their defense stepped up to hand Draughn a 31-0 shutout. The score at the end of the third wound up being the final score as the Panthers just coasted through the last quarter.
Patton's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from River McCrary, who rushed for 84 yards and two scores, and also threw for 76 yards and one TD. Alex Ryan was McCrary's top target, picking up -7 receiving yards.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Patton was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 217 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Patton didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as McCrary, Ryan, and Trenton Kidd picked up one apiece.
R-S Central hadn't beaten Chase on the road since November 3, 2017 but that history sure didn't bother them on Friday. The Hilltoppers took their contest with ease, bagging a 42-7 win over the Trojans. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Hilltoppers.
A big part of R-S Central's victory came down to the chemistry between Rylan Holley and his top target Jakis Smith. Holley threw for 153 yards and four touchdowns while completing 76.9% of his passes while Smith gained 139 total yards and two touchdowns.
R-S Central picked up their first road win, bumping their record up to 2-3. As for Patton, their victory (their first of the season) made their record 1-4.
Patton took a serious blow against R-S Central when the teams last played back in October of 2023, falling 33-6. Thankfully for the Panthers, Marcus Logan (who rushed for 182 yards and a pair of TDs while picking up 11.4 yards per carry) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
