The Mahanoy Area Golden Bears will head out to take on the Pine Grove Cardinals at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Mahanoy Area hasn't scored more than 13 points for five games straight, a trend the team is eager to reverse.
Mahanoy Area is headed into the contest out to prove that what happened against Marian Catholic on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. The Golden Bears lost 35-13 to Marian Catholic. The Golden Bears were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 28-0.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Pine Grove). They came out on top in a nail-biter against Shenandoah Valley on Friday, sneaking past 28-26. The victory continues a trend for the Cardinals in their matchups with the Blue Devils: they've now won three in a row.
Mahanoy Area better keep an eye on Logan Troup. He was instrumental in Pine Grove's win, rushing for 148 yards while picking up 8.2 yards per carry. That's the most rushing yards Troup has posted since back in September of 2024. Wyatt Snyder was in the mix too, providing Pine Grove with two TDs.
Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something Pine Grove proved: they limited Shenandoah Valley to a paltry 2.7 yards per carry. The team can thank Snyder for the heroic effort on defense: he. Pine Grove didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 5.7.
Pine Grove's defense didn't let Ethan Bench., get away unscathed either: they got into the backfield for three sacks. Kolbey Buffington was especially locked on to Shenandoah Valley's QB and sacked him twice. Buffington is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made five or more in each of the last three games he's played. Wyatt Dixon got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.
Pine Grove's first win this season bumped their record up to 1-4. As for Mahanoy Area, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-5.
Mahanoy Area took their victory against Pine Grove in their previous meeting back in September of 2024 by a conclusive 48-22 score. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Troup, who rushed for 140 yards and one touchdown. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will the Golden Bears still be able to contain Troup? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
