Two dominant backs in Myquan Rush-Esdaile and Rahmel Anderson are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Barnegat Bengals will face off against the Lakewood Piners on Saturday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both will really light up the scoreboard.
Barnegat is headed out in good spirits considering the team just ended their winless streak on the road against New Egypt on Friday. Barnegat blew past New Egypt 47-7 on the road. That 40 point margin sets a new team best for the Bengals this season.
Barnegat's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Rush-Esdaile, who rushed for 129 yards and a touchdown, and Jack Haviland, who threw for 112 yards and two touchdowns while completing 81.8% of his passes. Christopher Santero was another key rusher, rushing for 62 yards and a touchdown on only five carries.
Barnegat didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Johnnel Johnson and Stephen Griffin.
Meanwhile, Lakewood beat Keansburg 35-24 on Saturday. With that victory, the Piners brought their scoring average up to 26.8 points per game.
It was another big night for Anderson, who rushed for 245 yards and five touchdowns while picking up 7.4 yards per carry. His rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his 14th straight game with at least 106 rushing yards dating back to last season.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Lakewood was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 245 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 158 rushing yards in three consecutive games.
Barnegat's win ended a six-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 5-3. As for Lakewood, their victory bumped their record up to an identical 5-3.
Saturday's match might be decided in the on the ground. Barnegat has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 199.8 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Lakewood struggles in that department as they've been averaging 254.8. It's looking like Saturday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Everything came up roses for Barnegat against Lakewood in their previous matchup back in October of 2021, as the squad secured a 48-20 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Barnegat since the team 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
