West Philadelphia kicked off their season on the road on Friday and hit a couple of potholes. They took a 47-42 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Manheim Central Barons. While losing is never fun, the Speedboys can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania football rankings (they are ranked 282nd, while the Barons are ranked 83rd).
Several Speedboys players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Ahmeir Green, who threw for 407 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 15.7 yards per attempt, and also rushed for 30 yards. Green also put in work on the defensive side of the ball, picking up three sacks and making six total tackles. Another player making a difference was Xavier Howard, who gained 237 total yards and two touchdowns.
Special teams also deserves some recognition, posting 12 points in total. The biggest highlight from special teams (and perhaps the team as a whole) came courtesy of A'Kir Archer, who ran a kickoff back for a touchdown.
Even if they lost, West Philadelphia's defensive line still kept up the pressure with four sacks. Leading the way was Green with three. West Philadelphia got some further help from Cayden Norman: he picked up a sack and made ten total tackles.
Coming up, West Philadelphia will head out on the road to face off against Sussex Central at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. As for Manheim Central, they will host Ephrata at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
