Two dominant backs in Grant Boyd and Xavion Lesure are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Pike Central Chargers will look to defend their home field on Friday against the Washington Hatchets at 7:30 p.m. Pike Central is coming into the game on a three-game losing streak.
Last Friday, Pike Central came up short against South Spencer and fell 27-16.
Despite the loss, Pike Central got top-tier performance from Boyd, who rushed for 134 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 7.9 yards per carry.
Pike Central wouldn't let South Spencer keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Pike Central can thank Arie Oneal and Justin Spinks for forcing both of them. Briar Thomas was another major factor on D, making 14 total tackles (3.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Washington, who bounced back after a loss on the road two weeks ago. They took their matchup at home on Friday with ease, bagging a 42-8 win over Princeton. The Hatchets might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won three matches by 21 points or more this season.
It was another big night for Lesure, who rushed for 207 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 11.5 yards per carry. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 120.4 rushing yards per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Colton Stowers, who threw for 270 yards and two touchdowns while completing 84.2% of his passes.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Washington was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 258 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in September of 2023.
Washington'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 Cordell Turner and Cooper Wright.
Pike Central now has a losing record at 2-3. As for Washington, their victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 4-1.
Friday's contest might be decided in the on the ground. Pike Central has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 209.6 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Washington struggles in that department as they've been averaging 177.6. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Pike Central took a serious blow against Washington in their previous matchup back in September of 2023, falling 41-13. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Lesure, who rushed for 112 yards and two touchdowns on only 11 carries. Now that Pike Central knows 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
