The Beech Grove Hornets will head out on the road to take on the Speedway Sparkplugs at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Beech Grove's offense hasn't had much luck over their past three contests, but Friday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Beech Grove's defense heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They came out on top against Edgewood by a score of 12-0.
Beech Grove's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Caron Parks, who rushed for 147 yards while picking up 7.4 yards per carry. Parks showed off some serious burst, cutting through the defense on one rush that went for 57 yards.
Beech Grove's run defense was locked in: Edgewood could only muster 0.9 yards per carry. The team can thank Franklin Wielbrenner for the heroic effort on defense: he. Beech Grove is a perfect 3-0 when they shut down the run game so well.
Beech Grove didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Tenauri Woods. Wielbrenner was another major factor on D, making 18 total tackles (1.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, Speedway played a tough contest on Friday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They lost 27-6 to Monrovia. The Sparkplugs haven't had much luck with the Bulldogs recently, as the team has come up short the last five times they've met.
Speedway's defeat dropped their record down to 0-6. As for Beech Grove, their win bumped their record up to 4-2.
Friday's game might be decided in the trenches. Beech Grove has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 152.5 rushing yards per game. It's a different story for Speedway, though, as they've been averaging only 94.3 rushing yards. How will they fare against such a dominant running game?
Beech Grove suffered a grim 48-26 defeat to Speedway when the teams last played back in September of 2024. Can the Hornets avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
