The SAHE Warriors will face off against the Pine Belt Spartans at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
SAHE is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Saturday. Everything went their way against Meridian HomeSchool as they made off with a 34-12 win. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Warriors.
Meanwhile, Pine Belt faced Magnolia in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Saturday. The Spartans blew past the Wildcats 56-6. The Spartans haven't had any issues with the Wildcats recently, as the game was their third consecutive victory against them.
SAHE better keep an eye on Samuel Smith. He was instrumental in Pine Belt's win, rushing for 157 yards and three TDs on only 15 carries, while also throwing for 65 yards and one touchdown. Smith has become a key player for the Spartans: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two rushing touchdowns, but 1-2 otherwise. Jackson Clifton was another key player, rushing for 76 yards and one score on only eight carries.
Pine Belt was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 298 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 272 rushing yards in four consecutive matchups.
One reason for the win was Pine Belt's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for four sacks. Leading the way was Eli Riley with two. Eli Bowling got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.
SAHE's win bumped their record up to 6-3. As for Pine Belt, their victory bumped their record up to 8-2.
SAHE suffered a grim 28-6 defeat to Pine Belt when the teams last played back in September. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Smith, who rushed for 176 yards and four TDs. Now that the Warriors know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
