The Lake Wales Highlanders will face off against the Bartow Yellow Jackets at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Lake Wales is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 29.5 points per game this season.
Bartow is facing Lake Wales at the wrong time: Lake Wales suffered their first home loss of the season on Friday and they're likely out for redemption. They took a 28-17 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Kowboys. The Highlanders have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Despite the defeat, Lake Wales got top-tier performance from Brycen Levidiotis, who threw for 254 yards and two touchdowns, and also rushed for 32 yards. Kaneilius Purdy was another key player, picking up 104 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Meanwhile, Bartow entered their match against Durant on Friday without any home losses, but there's a first time for everything. Bartow was outmatched by Durant at home and fell 42-14. The Yellow Jackets' loss signaled the end of their four-game winning streak.
Although Bartow took the loss, they still got scores from Ka?Marion Thomas, Joshod Hampton, and Carmello Harden.
Bartow didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Kendric Stacey and Hampton. Another thorn in Durant's side was De'Coryian Stanley, who made 14 total tackles (1.0 for loss).
Lake Wales' defeat ended a nine-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 5-3. As for Bartow, their loss dropped their record down to an identical 5-3.
Everything went Lake Wales' way against Bartow when the teams last played back in November of 2023, as Lake Wales made off with a 28-3 victory. Will Lake Wales repeat their success, or does Bartow have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
