The Harding Academy Wildcats will venture away from home to take on the Batesville Pioneers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Harding Academy is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to 35 points last Friday, they were much more limited against Valley View on Friday. They came up short against the Blazers, falling 37-12. While losing is never fun, the Wildcats can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Arkansas football rankings (they are ranked 62nd, while the Blazers are ranked 18th).
The match pitted two dominant signal callers against one another in Owen Miller and Drew Gartman. Gartman had a great game and rushed for 204 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 10.7 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Miller did his best for the losing side, throwing for 131 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 38 yards.
Meanwhile, Batesville had to endure a seven-game losing streak dating back to last season, but that streak is no more. They claimed a resounding 35-0 win over Paragould on the road. The high-flying offensive performance was a huge turnaround for the Pioneers considering their 12-point performance the matchup before.
Among those leading the charge was Cole Bentz, who threw for 173 yards and two touchdowns while completing 72.2% of his passes, and also rushed for 49 yards. Those 49 rushing yards gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Cale Glasgow, who gained 101 total yards and a touchdown.
Batesville wouldn't let Paragould keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Batesville can thank Ethan Moser and Colin Mccuiston for forcing both of them.
Harding Academy now has a losing record at 2-3. As for Batesville, their victory (their first of the season) made their record 1-4.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's game: Harding Academy has been on an offensive roll this season, having averaged 354.6 total yards per game. It's a different story for Batesville, though, as they've been averaging only 241.8. Will Harding Academy be able to march up the field at their leisure again, or will Batesville flip the script? 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
