Two dominant backs in Brig Keiser and Isaiah Yannis are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Piedra Vista Panthers will host the Cleveland Storm at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Piedra Vista has struggled recently with six defeats in a row, while Cleveland will arrive with six straight wins.
Piedra Vista will head into Friday's matchup ready to turn things around: they couldn't quite beat Rio Rancho on Friday, but the three-point margin was a huge improvement compared to the 41-point loss they were dealt last Friday. Piedra Vista fell just short of Rio Rancho by a score of 36-33. While the Panthers had to settle for second, they closed the game well in the third quarter, where they outscored the Rams 15-6.
Despite the defeat, Piedra Vista got top-tier performance from Keiser, who rushed for 182 yards and a touchdown while picking up 9.1 yards per carry, and also caught a touchdown.
Meanwhile, Cleveland got themselves on the board against Cibola on Friday, but Cibola never followed suit. They blew past the Cougars 55-0 on the road. The Storm might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five matches by 22 points or more this season.
Cleveland's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Jordan Hatch led the charge by throwing for 85 yards and two touchdowns while completing 85.7% of his passes.
Another reason for the win was Cleveland's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for three sacks. Riley Haussler was especially locked on to Cibola's QB and sacked him twice.
Piedra Vista's loss dropped their record down to 1-6. As for Cleveland, they pushed their record up to 6-1 with the victory, which was their seventh straight on the road dating back to last season.
Friday's game might be decided in the on the ground. Piedra Vista has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 224.7 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Cleveland struggles in that department as they've been averaging 208.9. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Piedra Vista took a serious blow against Cleveland in their previous matchup back in October of 2017, falling 49-14. Can Piedra Vista 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
