The West Panthers will face off against the Brighton Bengals at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. West knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 31 points or more in their past six contests -- so hopefully Brighton likes a good challenge.
West is headed into the game after thoroughly thrashing East: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that West blew East out of the water with a 48-19 final score. The match was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point the Panthers had established a 27 point advantage.
Lote Sotele was his usual excellent self, rushing for 203 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 8.5 yards per carry, and also picking up 60 receiving yards and a touchdown. Sotele is crushing it when it comes to rushing yards: he's rushed for at least 154 every time he's taken the field this season. West also got a significant boost from Louie Hamilton, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 95 yards.
Another reason for the win was West's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for ten sacks. Kisi Fonua led the group effort, picking up three of those sacks all by himself. Takeshi Savery also made eight total tackles, which is notable because West is 3-1 when he posts at least four total tackles, but 2-3 otherwise. Another thorn in East's side was Lester Falatea, who forced a fumble and made 14 total tackles.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, West was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 358 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 169 rushing yards in 14 consecutive matchups dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Brighton entered their tilt with Layton Christian Academy on Thursday with three consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with four. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat the Eagles 41-0 at home. The result was nothing new for the Bengals, who have now won five contests by 20 points or more so far this season.
Alex Degroot had an outrageously good game as he threw for 290 yards and four touchdowns while completing 71.4% of his passes. Cash Gay was Degroot's top target, picking up 139 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Brighton wouldn't let Layton Christian Academy keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Jaxon Nettleton was the leader in that area as all came courtesy of his dominant performance.
West now has a winning record of 5-4. As for Brighton, their victory was their ninth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 8-1.
The upcoming game will be a clash of competing strengths. West has relied on air attacks this season and has averaged 341.3 passing yards per game. Brighton, on the other hand, has relied on a stout run game: they average 172.8 rushing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Wednesday? There's only one way to find out.
West beat Brighton 31-24 in their previous matchup back in October of 2023. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Brighton's Kaden Morzelewski, who rushed for 111 yards and a touchdown, and also threw for 92 yards and a touchdown. Now that he won't be playing on Wednesday, will it be easier for West to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
