The Westerville South Wildcats will venture away from home to face off against the Hayes Pacers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Westerville South's defense has only allowed 13.2 points per game this season, so Hayes' offense will have their work cut out for them.
Westerville South's offense might be in the hot seat on Friday considering what happened against Westerville North on Friday. They fell just short of the Warriors by a score of 3-0. The game marked the first time this season in which the Wildcats were not able to get on the board.
Westerville South's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. The picks came courtesy of Hassan Kaba and Ian Smith. Kaba also set a new season high mark in receiving yards with 81.
Meanwhile, Hayes' game on Friday was all tied up 14-14 at the half, but luckily for them it didn't stay that way. They came out on top against Worthington Kilbourne by a score of 35-27.
It was another big night for Favour Akih, who rushed for 207 yards and two touchdowns, and also caught a touchdown. His rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his sixth straight game with at least 151 rushing yards dating back to last season. Another player making a difference was Caleb Rowe, who threw for 140 yards and three touchdowns.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Hayes was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 260 rushing yards. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 0 rushing yards per game earlier this season, but in their last three matchups they've averaged 226.
This is the second loss in a row for Westerville South and nudges their season record down to 3-3. As for Hayes, their record is now 4-2.
Friday's contest might be decided in the on the ground. Westerville South has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 171 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Hayes struggles in that department as they've been averaging 252.2. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Westerville South couldn't quite finish off Hayes in their previous meeting back in September of 2023 and fell 36-33. Can Westerville South avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
