Martinsville has won four straight games at home, while Plainfield has won four straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Friday. The Martinsville Artesians will welcome the Plainfield Quakers at 7:00 p.m. Martinsville is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 38.5 points per game this season.
Martinsville will bounce into Friday's contest after beating Mooresville, who they had gone 2-7 against in their nine prior meetings. Martinsville walked away with a 27-18 win over Mooresville on Friday. Given the Artesians' advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana football rankings (they are ranked 23rd, while the Pioneers are ranked 91st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Martinsville didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. Grady Gardner picked up that interception and then proceeded to rub salt in the wound by taking it back the other way for a touchdown. He is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made seven or more in the last three games he's played dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Plainfield hadn't done well against Whiteland recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Friday. Plainfield put the hurt on Whiteland with a sharp 32-7 victory. The result was nothing new for the Quakers, who have now won five games by 21 points or more so far this season.
Plainfield got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Luke Starnes out in front who rushed for 111 yards and a touchdown. The team also got some help courtesy of Bryce Sebanc, who threw for 37 yards and two touchdowns.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Plainfield was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 237 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 204 rushing yards in eight consecutive matches.
Martinsville's victory bumped their record up to 8-0. As for Plainfield, their win bumped their record up to 7-1.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Martinsville has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 175.9 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Plainfield struggles in that department as they've been averaging 276.6. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Martinsville was able to grind out a solid victory over Plainfield in their previous matchup back in October of 2023, winning 13-6. Will Martinsville repeat their success, or does Plainfield have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
