The Blackhawk Cougars are taking a road trip to challenge the Southmoreland Scotties at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Last Saturday, Blackhawk was just a hair shy of victory and fell 33-32 to North Catholic. The Cougars have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Despite the defeat, Blackhawk got top-tier performance from Brayden Mccarthy, who rushed for 143 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 7.9 yards per carry, and also picked up 75 receiving yards and a touchdown. With that strong performance, Mccarthy is now averaging an impressive 109 rushing yards per game.
Blackhawk's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Cody Woodward. He got the majority of those receiving yards when he pulled down a pass and took off for a gain of 51 yards.
Meanwhile, Southmoreland won against East Allegheny last Friday with 49 points and they decided to stick to that point total again on Friday. Southmoreland claimed a resounding 49-13 victory over Laurel Highlands on the road. Fans of the Scotties have seen this all before: every one of the games they've played this season has ended in a blowout of 20+ point.
Anthony Smith went supernova for Southmoreland, throwing for 281 yards and three touchdowns while completing 75% of his passes, and also punching in a rushing score. Another big playmaker for Southmoreland was Makel Darnell, who returned a punt for a touchdown.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Southmoreland was moving up and down the field and finished the game with 403 total yards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Laurel Highlands only gained 105.
One reason for the win was Southmoreland's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for seven sacks. In that department, Jackson Mickens was the leader with four. He also put in work on the defensive side of the ball, picking up four sacks, forcing a fumble, and making eight total tackles.
Blackhawk now has a losing record at 1-2. As for Southmoreland, the win (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 3-0.
Friday's contest might be decided in the trenches. Blackhawk has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 186.3 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Southmoreland struggles in that department as they've been averaging 183.7. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps