The Notre Dame-Green Pond Crusaders will square off against the Saucon Valley Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Notre Dame-Green Pond will be looking to keep their eight-game home win streak dating back to last season alive.
Notre Dame-Green Pond is likely headed into the matchup with a focus on the second half, which is when things went downhill against North Schuylkill on Friday. Notre Dame-Green Pond fell just short of North Schuylkill by a score of 31-29. The loss was the Crusaders' first of the season.
Despite the loss, Notre Dame-Green Pond had strong showings from Alex Clark, who picked up 207 receiving yards and three touchdowns, and Matt Bodnar II, who threw for 363 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 14.0 yards per attempt. With that strong performance, Clark is now averaging an impressive 109.7 receiving yards per game. A healthy portion of that aerial production (81 yards to be exact) also went to Carmine Diaz.
Notre Dame-Green Pond wouldn't let North Schuylkill keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Notre Dame-Green Pond can thank Christian Rivituso and Drew Boyd for forcing both of them. Rivituso also put in work on the defensive side of the ball, forcing a fumble and making 17 total tackles.
Saucon Valley aren't just finding success at home, as their game on Friday extended their overall winning streak to three. They took their game at home with ease, bagging a 63-7 victory over Palmerton.
Saucon Valley's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Andrew Gilbert led the charge by picking up 97 receiving yards and two touchdowns. The dominant performance gave him a new career- in total yards. Another player making a difference was Jared Rohn, who rushed for 77 yards and two touchdowns.
Saucon Valley's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. The picks came courtesy of Jack Robertson and Parker Skoda. Robertson didn't just play on offense: he also made seven total tackles (1.0 for loss) and defended two passes in addition to snagging an interception.
Having lost for the first time this season, Notre Dame-Green Pond fell to 2-1. As for Saucon Valley, their win bumped their record up to 3-0.
The upcoming contest will be a clash of competing strengths. Notre Dame-Green Pond has relied on air attacks this season and has averaged 426.7 passing yards per game. Saucon Valley, on the other hand, has relied on a stout run game: they average 148.3 rushing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Friday? There's only one way to find out.
Everything came up roses for Notre Dame-Green Pond against Saucon Valley when the teams last played back in November of 2023 as the team secured a 56-20 victory. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Saucon Valley's Constantine Donahue, who rushed for 140 yards on only 13 carries. Now that he won't be playing on Friday, will it be easier for Notre Dame-Green Pond to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
