The Birmingham Patriots will square off against the Narbonne Gauchos at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Birmingham comes in on six and Narbonne on eight.
Birmingham is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They were the clear victor by a 42-19 margin over Gardena. The Patriots might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won six matches by 23 points or more this season.
Birmingham's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Dredon Fowles led the charge by rushing for 201 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 12.6 yards per carry. Fowles' longest rush was for an incredible 88 yards. Another player making a difference was Kevin Hawkins, who rushed for 61 yards and a touchdown on only six carries.
Birmingham was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 305 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 171 rushing yards in eight consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, after low-scoring totals in their previous four contests, Narbonne brought some dynamite into their most recent game. They blew past Dorsey, posting a 47-13 victory. Given the Gauchos' advantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 129th, while the Dons are ranked 417th), the result on Friday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Birmingham's win was their ninth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 6-4. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 48.3 points. As for Narbonne, their victory bumped their record up to 9-2.
Everything came up roses for Birmingham against Narbonne in their previous meeting back in November of 2023, as the team secured a 57-19 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Birmingham since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
