Ward Melville hasn't had much luck against William Floyd recently, but that could start to change on Saturday. The Ward Melville Patriots will challenge the William Floyd Colonials at 7:00 p.m. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Ward Melville comes in on three and William Floyd on five.
Ward Melville is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They came out on top against Longwood by a score of 14-7. The score was all tied up 7-7 at the break, but the Patriots were the (much) better team in the second half.
Joey Benedetto continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 186 yards and a touchdown while picking up 7.2 yards per carry.
Meanwhile, William Floyd made easy work of Sachem North on Saturday and carried off a 35-14 win. The result was nothing new for the Colonials, who have now won six matches by 20 points or more so far this season.
It was another big night for Ja?Quan Thomas, who rushed for 232 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 7.7 yards per carry. Thomas is crushing it when it comes to rushing yards: he's rushed for at least 131 every time he's taken the field this season. The team also got some help courtesy of A.J. Cannet, who threw for 135 yards and two touchdowns on only 12 passes.
William Floyd was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 255 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 150 rushing yards in 22 consecutive matchups dating back to last season.
On the defensive side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to William Floyd's defense and their five sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Jayden Johnson and Aaron Fisher, who racked up four sacks between them. Johnson also set a new season high mark in total tackles with nine. Another thorn in Sachem North's side was Jake Rivera, who picked up a sack and made eight total tackles (4.0 for loss).
Ward Melville's victory bumped their record up to 9-1. As for William Floyd, their win bumped their record up to an identical 9-1.
Saturday's contest might be decided in the on the ground. Ward Melville has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 192.2 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like William Floyd struggles in that department as they've been averaging 284.9. It's looking like Saturday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Ward Melville barely slipped by William Floyd in their previous meeting back in October, winning 22-21. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Thomas, who rushed for 145 yards and a touchdown while picking up 7.6 yards per carry. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Ward Melville still be able to contain Thomas? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
