Two dominant backs in Lane Simmons and Sean Vester are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The North Central Thunderbirds will head out to face off against the Riverton Parke Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with North Central sitting on five straight wins and Riverton Parke on ten.
North Central is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 28-26 victory over Covington. The score was all tied up 12-12 at the break, but the Thunderbirds were the better team in the second half.
A big part of North Central's win came down to the chemistry between Lane Phegley and his top target Sawyer Cox. Phegley rushed for 87 yards while Cox rushed for 133 yards and one touchdown while picking up 7.4 yards per carry. Cox was even better on defense, picking up two sacks, forcing one fumble, and making nine total tackles (4.0 for loss).
North Central was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 340 rushing yards. They are a perfect 6-0 when they've run for more than 200 yards.
Meanwhile, Riverton Parke took their contest on Friday with ease, bagging a 46-6 victory over North Vermillion. Fans of the Panthers have seen this all before: every one of the games they've played this season has ended in a blowout of 20+ points.
Riverton Parke's win came from a few key players North Central will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Chase Bennett, who rushed for 54 yards and three TDs. Those 54 rushing yards gave him a new career-high. Vickter Shoopman helped out on the ground, rushing for 130 yards.
Riverton Parke's defense made their presence known, laying out the QB ten times. Josh Ushman was especially locked on to North Vermillion's QB and sacked him 4.5 times.
North Central's record now sits at 7-3. As for Riverton Parke, their record is now 10-0.
Friday's game might be decided on the ground. North Central has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 217.7 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Riverton Parke struggles in that department as they've been averaging 390.8 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's matchup turns into a tough fight on the ground.
North Central was taken down by Riverton Parke 56-22 when the teams last played back in October of 2022. Thankfully for the Thunderbirds, Derron Hazzard (who rushed for 278 yards and six scores while picking up 15.4 yards per carry, and also threw for 58 yards and one touchdown) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
