Derby has gone 9-1 against Hutchinson recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Derby Panthers will venture away from home to face off against the Hutchinson Salthawks at 7:00 p.m. Both are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
If Derby beats Hutchinson with 59 points on Friday, it's going to be the squad's new lucky number: they've won their past two matchups with that exact score. Derby blew past Maize 59-7 at home on Friday. Given the Panthers' advantage in MaxPreps' Kansas football rankings (they are ranked third, while the Eagles are ranked 84th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Derby got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Arieus Finley out in front who rushed for 116 yards and a touchdown on only nine carries, and also caught a touchdown. Another signal caller making a difference was Drew Kemp, who threw for 132 yards and four touchdowns while completing 90.9% of his passes.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Derby was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 227 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 177 rushing yards in five consecutive games dating back to last season.
Derby wouldn't let Maize keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force three fumbles. It was truly a group effort as Elijah Dixon, Houston Bowlin, and Dylan Karel picked up one apiece.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Hutchinson). Their defense stepped up to hand South a 47-0 shutout on Thursday. Give the Salthawks' defense some credit: that's the team's third straight shutout.
Hutchinson's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged three passes before it was all said and done. It was truly a group effort as Carter Morgan, Tramel Walker, and Terrell King picked up one apiece. Morgan is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made five or more in the last nine games he's played dating back to last season.
Derby pushed their record up to 4-0 with the victory, which was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season. As for Hutchinson, their win bumped their record up to 3-1.
Friday's contest might be decided in the on the ground. Derby has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 235.5 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Hutchinson struggles in that department as they've been averaging 281.5. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Derby was able to grind out a solid victory over Hutchinson in their previous matchup back in September of 2023, winning 27-17. Will Derby repeat their success, or does Hutchinson have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
