The Palatka Panthers will square off against the Newberry Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Newberry is hoping to do what Nature Coast Tech couldn't on Friday: put an end to Palatka's winning streak, which now stands at four games. Palatka came out on top against Nature Coast Tech by a score of 34-26.
Palatka's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Justin Fells, who rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns. The dominant performance gave Fells a new career-high in rushing yards. The team also got some help courtesy of Lawrence Evans, who rushed for 97 yards and a touchdown on only 12 carries.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Newberry). They breezed by Keystone Heights at home to the tune of 48-0 two weeks ago. Given the Panthers' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida football rankings (they are ranked 97th, while the Indians are ranked 311th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Kaleb Woods, who rushed for 194 yards and four touchdowns on only 11 carries. He really tore up the turf during one magnificent 81-yard run. Kobe Johnson was another key player, throwing for 63 yards and two touchdowns on only six passes.
Newberry wouldn't let Keystone Heights keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Newberry can thank Malachi Lancaster and Amaris Bryant for forcing both of them. Jarquez Carter was another major factor on D, picking up three sacks, making seven total tackles (5.0 for loss), and making seven total tackles (5.0 for loss).
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Newberry was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 297 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Palatka's victory bumped their record up to 4-1. As for Newberry, the win got them back to even at 2-2.
Palatka came up short against Newberry in their previous meeting back in September of 2021, falling 37-30. Can Palatka avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
