Pebble Hills and Franklin are an even 4-4 against one another since September of 2016, but not for long. The Pebble Hills Spartans will head out to square off against the Franklin Cougars at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Pebble Hills is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 40.6 points per game this season.
Pebble Hills is probably headed into the match with a chip on their shoulder considering Eastlake just ended the team's four-game winning streak on Friday. They took a 28-20 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Falcons. Despite 67 more yards than the Falcons, the Spartans couldn't convert that extra yardage to scores.
Pebble Hills might have lost, but man, Zereian Quarles was a machine: he rushed for 214 yards and a touchdown, and also caught a touchdown. Quarles' rushing production has been exceptional as that marked his eighth straight game with at least 127 rushing yards.
Even though they lost, Pebble Hills was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 252 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 171 rushing yards in eight consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Franklin came up short against Eastlake two weeks ago and fell 21-14.
Franklin might have lost, but man, Ernie Powers was a machine: he rushed for 246 yards and a touchdown while picking up 7.2 yards per carry. Powers was no stranger to the big play, turning on the jets for a run that went for 62 yards.
Pebble Hills' record now sits at 5-4. As for Franklin, their defeat ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 5-4.
Thursday's matchup will pit two of the most dominant backs against one another: Quarles and Powers. Quarles just won't slow down this season and has caught 2 touchdowns while averaging 14.7 receiving yards per game. Powers has been a dominant force too and has run in 16 touchdowns while averaging 190.8 rushing yards per game.
Everything came up roses for Pebble Hills against Franklin in their previous matchup back in October of 2023, as the team secured a 54-14 win. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Franklin's Shay Smith, who rushed for 132 yards and two touchdowns, and also threw for 131 yards on 11 of 20 attempts. Now that he won't be playing on Thursday, will it be easier for Pebble Hills to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
