The Ponaganset Chieftains will head out on the road to square off against the Classical Purple at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Ponaganset will be coming into the match with an undefeated record on the line.
Ponaganset is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Rhode Island's top teams: Rogers, who was ranked 22nd in their home state at the time (Ponaganset was ranked 11th). Ponaganset blew past Rogers, posting a 49-7 win at home. Considering the Chieftains have won four games by more than 28 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Ponaganset had a senior duo take command as Trevor Lytle picked up 73 receiving yards and three touchdowns and Robert Grenga threw for 129 yards and three touchdowns while completing 72.7% of his passes. Lytle is on a roll when it comes to receiving touchdowns, as he's now hauled in two or more in the last four games he's played dating back to last season.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Ponaganset was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 297 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Classical has relied on a stalwart defense averaging 8.5 points allowed per game, but that average took a hit on Friday. They took a 31-23 hit to the loss column at the hands of Pilgrim. The matchup marked the Purple's lowest-scoring contest so far this season.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Jacoby Tavares, who picked up 101 receiving yards and a touchdown. Another player making a difference was Jordan Duke, who gained 92 total yards and a touchdown.
Even if they lost, Classical's defensive line still kept up the pressure with four sacks. Pilgrim's QB won't forget Leo Francois anytime soon given he sacked him twice.
Ponaganset pushed their record up to 6-0 with the victory, which was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season. As for Classical, the defeat snapped their winning streak at five games and leaves them with a 5-1 record.
The upcoming match will be a clash of competing strengths. Ponaganset has deployed a run-first offense that has averaged 189 rushing yards a game. Meanwhile, Classical has preferred to attack from the air: they average 279 passing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Saturday? There's only one way to find out.
Ponaganset was taken down by Classical 56-6 in their previous matchup back in October of 2015. Can Ponaganset avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
