Westmont Hilltop was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their eighth straight loss. They were beaten by the Richland Rams 57-21. While losing is never fun, the Hilltoppers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania football rankings (they are ranked 461st, while the Rams are ranked 168th).
Westmont Hilltop's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Derek Gartner, who gained 102 total yards, and Landen Valente, who rushed for 73 yards and a touchdown. Gartner got the majority of those rushing yards when he took off on a run and that went for an incredible 52 yards. Fisher Stratton was in the mix too, providing Westmont Hilltop with a touchdowns.
Westmont Hilltop wouldn't let Richland keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Westmont Hilltop can thank Stratton and Jonah Mccoy for forcing both of them. Stratton also deserves a shoutout for his performance on D, forcing a fumble and making four total tackles which he returned for a touchdown.
Even though they lost, Westmont Hilltop was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 265 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 175 rushing yards in four consecutive contests dating back to last season.
Richland found their leader in underclassman Grayson Mahla, who threw for 239 yards and five touchdowns while completing 80% of his passes. Arnold Mugerwa was Mahla's top target, picking up 87 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
Westmont Hilltop's loss dropped their record down to 0-3. As for Richland, they now have a winning record of 2-1.
Westmont Hilltop will challenge Somerset at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. As for Richland, they will look to defend their home field on Friday against Bishop McCort at 7:00 p.m. Richland will be looking to keep their eight-game home win streak dating back to last season alive.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
