The Palisades Pumas will square off against the Providence Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Palisades had to skate by with only a three-point margin when they last took the field, which might have inspired the 40-point drubbing they dealt Ballantyne Ridge on Friday. The Pumas claimed a resounding 54-14 victory over the Wolves. The game was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 28-7.
Palisades got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Nick Rankin out in front who rushed for 88 yards and two touchdowns. Rankin got the majority of those rushing yards when he took off on a run that went for an incredible 55 yards. Another player making a difference was Jolani Legette, who gained 127 total yards and a touchdown.
Palisades' run defense was locked in: Ballantyne Ridge could only muster three yards per carry. The team can thank Rankin for the heroic effort on defense: he. Palisades didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 16.2.
Meanwhile, Providence had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 16.5 points) and they went ahead and made it three last Friday. They blew past the Eagles 35-7. Given the Panthers' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 51st, while the Eagles are ranked 233rd) , the win wasn't entirely unexpected.
Palisades better keep an eye on Kaleb Vines. He was instrumental in Providence's win, rushing for 151 yards and a pair of scores on only 13 carries. Vines also punched in two rushing touchdowns, which is notable because the Panthers are undefeated when he posts at least two rushing touchdowns, but 1-3 otherwise. Luke Meador was another key player, throwing for 120 yards and three TDs.
One reason for the win was Providence's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for five sacks. Leading the way was Cory Cunningham with three. Providence got some further help from Colton Bogan: he picked up a sack and made 15 total tackles.
Palisades' victory bumped their record up to 5-2. As for Providence, they now have a winning record of 4-3.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
