The Pattonsburg Panthers will head out on the road to square off against the Albany Warriors at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Pattonsburg has given up an average of 39.4 points per game this season, but Friday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Pattonsburg is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Missouri's top teams: Worth County/Northeast Nodaway, who was ranked third at the time (Pattonsburg was ranked seventh). The Panthers had to suffer through a 74-24 loss at the hands of the Tigers. The Panthers haven't had much luck with the Tigers recently, as the team has come up short the last six times they've met.
Despite the defeat, Pattonsburg got top-tier performance from Wyatt Maize, who rushed for 139 yards and a pair of scores on only 13 carries, and also picked up 56 receiving yards and one touchdown. Maize's longest rush was for an impressive 68 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total. Another player making a difference was Gage Fortner, who threw for 151 yards and two TDs.
Meanwhile, Albany entered their tilt with Stanberry on Friday with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. They blew past the Bulldogs 56-26. The Warriors might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four contests by 30 points or more this season.
Albany didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Clayton Griffin and Jace Palmer. Palmer also punched in two rushing touchdowns, which is notable because Albany is undefeated when he posts at least two rushing touchdowns, but 1-4 otherwise.
Having lost for the first time this season, Pattonsburg fell to 7-1. As for Albany, the victory got them back to even at 4-4.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's matchup: Pattonsburg has been excellent in the air this season, having averaged 286.1 passing yards per game. It's a different story for Albany, though, as they've been averaging only 73.4 passing yards. How will they fare against such a dominant passing game?
Pattonsburg came up short against Albany in their previous matchup back in October of 2024, falling 78-74. Thankfully for the Panthers, Kyle Emerson (who picked up 102 receiving yards and one touchdown, and also rushed for 70 yards and one score on only six carries) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
