The Hayes Pacers will square off against the Westerville South Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Hayes will be strutting in after a victory while Westerville South will be coming in after a loss.
If Westerville South heads into halftime all tied up, they better play a good second half: that's when Hayes took over last week. Hayes walked away with a 35-27 win over Worthington Kilbourne on Friday.
Favour Akih was his usual excellent self, rushing for 207 yards and two touchdowns, while also catching a touchdown. His rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his sixth straight game with at least 151 rushing yards dating back to last season. Caleb Rowe was another key player, throwing for 140 yards and three touchdowns.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Hayes was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 260 rushing yards. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 0 rushing yards per game earlier this season, but in their last three games they've averaged 226.
Meanwhile, Friday just wasn't the day for Westerville South's offense. They fell just short of Westerville North by a score of 3-0 on Friday. That's two games in a row now that the Wildcats have lost by exactly three points.
Westerville South's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. The picks came courtesy of Hassan Kaba and Ian Smith. Kaba also set a new season high mark in receiving yards with 81.
Hayes' victory bumped their record up to 4-2. As for Westerville South, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost three of their last four matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 3-3 record this season.
Friday's contest might be decided in the on the ground. Hayes has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 252.2 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Westerville South struggles in that department as they've been averaging 171. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Hayes skirted past Westerville South 36-33 in their previous matchup back in September of 2023. Will Hayes repeat their success, or does Westerville South have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
