Mandeville is 9-1 against Hammond since October of 2014, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Mandeville Skippers will look to defend their home field against the Hammond Tornadoes at 7:00 p.m. The timing is sure in Mandeville's favor as the squad sits on seven straight wins at home (dating back to last season) while Hammond has been banged up by four consecutive losses on the road also dating back to last season.
Mandeville's offense will try to repeat the strong performance it gave on Friday, when they got past Covington's usually-dominant defense. Mandeville narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past Covington 35-33. The 35-point effort marked the Skippers' lowest-scoring match of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.
Nate Sheppard was his usual excellent self, rushing for 257 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 8.9 yards per carry. He was no stranger to the big play, turning on the jets for a run that went for 59 yards. Ben Hendricks was in the mix too, providing Mandeville with two touchdowns.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Mandeville was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 367 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 203 rushing yards in six consecutive games.
Mandeville didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Michael White.
Meanwhile, Hammond entered their contest against St. Paul's on Friday without any home losses, but there's a first time for everything. Hammond was beaten by St. Paul's 45-13. The Tornadoes' defeat signaled the end of their four-game winning streak.
Hammond might have lost, but man, Zalen Bennett was a machine: he rushed for 133 yards on only 15 carries.
Mandeville's win bumped their record up to 6-0. As for Hammond, their loss ended a four-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 4-2.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Mandeville has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 266.8 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Hammond struggles in that department as they've been averaging 185.5. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Everything came up roses for Mandeville against Hammond when the teams last played back in October of 2023, as the squad secured a 44-6 victory. In that game, Mandeville amassed a halftime lead of 23-0, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
