The Licking Valley Panthers will head out on the road to face off against the East Tigers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Licking Valley was not the first on the board last Friday, but they got there more often. They strolled past Licking Heights with points to spare, taking the game 23-6. The win was just what Licking Valley needed coming off of a 45-20 defeat in their prior game.
Meanwhile, East had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 19 points), and they went ahead and made it three on Friday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Linden-McKinley 40-8 at home. The result was nothing new for East, who have now won four games by 24 points or more so far this season.
Taizaun Burns was his usual excellent self, rushing for 150 yards and a touchdown on only ten carries, while also throwing for 150 yards and a touchdown on only 14 passes. Burns hasn't dropped below 100 rushing yards for three straight games. Marsean Bowles made the highlight reel by snagging an interception and taking it all the way to the house.
Another reason for the win was East's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for seven sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Joshua Flewellen and Anthony Shields who racked up six sacks between them.
Licking Valley's victory bumped their record up to 7-3. As for East, their win was their third straight at home, bumping their overall record up to 8-2.
