Basketball Game Preview: Hayfield Hawks vs. Annandale Atoms

Hayfield is 9-1 against Annandale since January of 2019 and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. The Hayfield Hawks will head out on the road to challenge the Annandale Atoms at 7:30 p.m. Hayfield knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past four matches -- so hopefully Annandale likes a good challenge.

It was a Battle of the Birds when Hayfield took on Edison on Tuesday. Hayfield took down Edison 69-50. The Hawks pushed the score to 58-34 by the end of the third, a deficit the Eagles cut but never quite recovered from.

Hayfield can attribute much of their success to Aaron Mcfarlane, who dropped a double-double on 18 points and ten rebounds, and Alex Mcfarlane, who went 8 for 17 en route to 18 points and seven boards. The dominant performance gave Aaron a new career-high in boards. The team also got some help courtesy of Cameron Prosper, who posted nine points and three steals.

Hayfield smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 20 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in eight consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, Annandale suffered their closest defeat since February 12, 2024 on Tuesday. They fell just short of Thomas Jefferson Science & Technology by a score of 55-52. The Atoms haven't had much luck with the Colonials recently, as the team's come up short the last two times they've met.

Annandale's loss was their first in the region, dropping their region record down to 2-1 and their overall record down to 3-5. As for Hayfield, their victory bumped their record up to 7-3.

Everything came up roses for Hayfield against Annandale in their previous meeting back in January of 2024, as the squad secured a 73-33 win. Does Hayfield have another victory up their sleeve, or will Annandale turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.