The Maplewood Panthers will head out on the road to square off against the Haywood Tomcats 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.
Maplewood took a loss when they played away from home last Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They never let Glencliff onto the board and left with a 54-0 win. The score at the end of the third wound up being the final score as the Panthers just coasted through the last quarter.
Jayon Washington had an outrageously good game as he rushed for 64 yards and two touchdowns on only eight carries, and also threw for 99 yards and two touchdowns while completing 80% of his passes. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in rushing yards. Christian Beatie also helped with two touchdowns in total.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Maplewood was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 242 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Maplewood's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Antonio Batey. Jaylan Strong was another major factor on D, picking up 0.5 sacks, forcing a fumble, and forcing a fumble.
Meanwhile, Haywood blew past Obion County, posting a 43-13 victory at home. With the Tomcats ahead 36-6 at the half, the match was all but over already.
Haywood's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Kemonte Williams led the charge by rushing for 75 yards and two touchdowns. Another signal caller making a difference was Carson Graves, who threw for 129 yards and two touchdowns on only five passes.
Maplewood's record is now 2-3. As for Haywood, they pushed their record up to 4-1 with the win, which was their tenth straight at home dating back to last season.
Maplewood was dealt a bruising 42-0 loss at the hands of Haywood when the teams last played back in September of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Haywood's Camarion Miller, who rushed for 125 yards and two touchdowns on only nine carries. Now that Maplewood knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
