The Manteno Panthers will venture away from home to square off against the Peotone Blue Devils at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Manteno will be strutting in after a win while Peotone will be coming in after a loss.
Manteno will roll into the game after a wild two-game stretch: they didn't score any points last Friday, then bounced right back against Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley on Friday. The Panthers put the hurt on the Falcons with a sharp 35-13 victory. The high-scoring performance was a welcome turnaround for the Panthers' offense, which had struggled in the games prior.
Nick Honkisz had a dynamite game, rushing for 164 yards and three touchdowns on only 14 carries. The team also got some help courtesy of Connor Harrod, who rushed for 58 yards and a pair of TDs.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Manteno was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 231 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Peotone took a blow against Coal City on Friday, falling 49-7. While losing is never fun, the Blue Devils can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois football rankings (they are ranked 259th, while the Coalers are ranked 98th).
Manteno now has a winning record of 4-3. As for Peotone, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 3-4.
Manteno strolled past Peotone when the teams last played back in October of 2024 by a score of 21-7. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Panthers since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
