Harrisburg has been away from home for two games now, but on Saturday they'll finally make their return. After each having a week off, they and the Dallastown Wildcats will shake off the cobwebs and square off against one another at 1:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Harrisburg is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They really took it to Central Dauphin East for the full four quarters, racking up a 56-17 victory. The contest was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point the Cougars had established a 25 point advantage.
Messiah Mickens continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 125 yards and three touchdowns on only ten carries. His rushing production has been exceptional as that marked his fifth straight game with at least 102 rushing yards. The team also got some help courtesy of Jaiyon Lewis, who threw for 161 yards and three touchdowns on only 13 passes.
Harrisburg was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 265 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 208 rushing yards in five consecutive matchups.
One reason for the win was Harrisburg's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for four sacks. Nehemiah Ewell was particularly dangerous to the passing game, picking up three himself.
Meanwhile, Dallastown had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 21 points) and they went ahead and made it four two weeks ago. They were the clear victor by a 42-20 margin over the Lions. Given the Wildcats' advantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania football rankings (they are ranked 83rd, while the Lions are ranked 317th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Among those leading the charge was Kody Kissner, who threw for 123 yards and three touchdowns, and also rushed for 70 yards. Those 70 rushing yards gave him a new career-high.
Harrisburg pushed their record up to 8-2 with the win, which was their tenth straight on the road dating back to last season. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 35.6 points per game. As for Dallastown, their record now sits at 9-1.
Saturday's game will pit two of the most dominant backs against one another: Mickens and Christopher Cromartie. Mickens just won't slow down this season and has averaged 17.8 receiving yards per game. Cromartie has been a dominant force too and has run in 7 touchdowns while averaging 95.8 rushing yards per game.
Saturday's match might be decided in the on the ground. Harrisburg has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 190.2 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Dallastown struggles in that department as they've been averaging 185.9. It's looking like Saturday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more football content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
