The Southwest Patriots will head out on the road to take on the Toombs County Bulldogs at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Southwest is no doubt hoping to put an end to a three-game streak of away losses.
Last Friday, Southwest was able to grind out a solid win over East Laurens, taking the game 20-7.
It was another big night for Steve Robinson, who rushed for 103 yards and a touchdown on only 12 carries, and also threw for 108 yards and a touchdown while completing 71.4% of his passes. 81 of those passing yards were hauled in by Jamarea Watkins, who also brought in a receiving touchdown.
On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Southwest's defense and their 6.5 sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Rinaldo Callaway and Marquis Hutchings, who racked up 5.5 sacks between them. Southwest is 2-1 when Hutchings posts two or more sacks, but 2-5 otherwise. Another thorn in East Laurens' side was Jordan Gooden, who picked up a sack, made five total tackles (4.0 for loss), and defended a pass.
Southwest was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 239 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 213 rushing yards in three consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, after only seven points in their last game, Toombs County made sure to put some points up on the board against Swainsboro on Friday. Toombs County blew past Swainsboro, posting a 44-8 victory. Considering the Bulldogs have won six matches by more than 35 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
A big part of Toombs County's win came down to the chemistry between Tj Stanley and his top target Gavin Fletcher. Stanley threw for 203 yards and two touchdowns on only 19 passes while Fletcher picked up 90 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Southwest's record is now 4-6. As for Toombs County, their record now sits at 8-1.
Friday's contest might be decided in the on the ground. Southwest has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 165.5 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Toombs County struggles in that department as they've been averaging 242.4. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Southwest was taken down by Toombs County 64-6 in their previous matchup back in November of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Toombs County's Dabvn Wadley, who rushed for 175 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 10.9 yards per carry. Now that Southwest knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
