The matchup between Stanhope Elmore and Calera on Friday hardly resembled the 20-3 effort from their previous meeting. The Stanhope Elmore Mustangs came out on top in a nail-biter against the Calera Eagles , sneaking past 35-32. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Mustangs have posted since September 8, 2023.
Stanhope Elmore found their leader in sophomore Damarrian Barnes, who rushed for 157 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 8.7 yards per carry. Barnes' rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his third straight game with at least 122 rushing yards. Arthur Mcqueen was another key player, rushing for 160 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 8.9 yards per carry.
Stanhope Elmore was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 327 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 159 rushing yards in ten consecutive matches.
Stanhope Elmore didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Kamran Anderson and Joidaden Carter-Stone. Carter-Stone also forced afumble, which is notable because Stanhope Elmore is 2-1 when he posts at least one forced fumble, but 3-4 otherwise. Stanhope Elmore got some further help from Jacob Tharpe: he made 16 total tackles (1.0 for loss).
Calera's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Antorious Johnson, who threw for 251 yards and three touchdowns, and Cameron Hagler, who picked up 110 receiving yards and two touchdowns. The dominant performance also gave Johnson a new career-high in rushing yards (89).
The victory got Stanhope Elmore back to even at 5-5. As for Calera, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 3-7.
As of now, neither Stanhope Elmore nor Calera have any future games scheduled.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
