Ridgemont hasn't had much luck against Hardin Northern recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Ridgemont Golden Gophers will square off against the Hardin Northern Polar Bears at 7:00 p.m. Both have allowed few points on average, (Ridgemont: 14.2, Hardin Northern: 16.8) so any points scored will be well earned.
Ridgemont's offense might be in the hot seat on Friday considering what happened against Upper Scioto Valley on Friday. They lost 20-0 to the Rams. That makes it the first time this season the Golden Gophers have let down their home crowd.
Meanwhile, Hardin Northern had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 17.5 points) and they went ahead and made it five on Friday. They took their contest on the road with ease, bagging a 42-0 win over the Rockets. The Polar Bears' offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.
Nolan Hopson continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 271 yards and five touchdowns while picking up 7.7 yards per carry. His rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his sixth straight game with at least 133 rushing yards dating back to last season.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Hardin Northern was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 296 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 150 rushing yards in 15 consecutive matchups dating back to last season.
One reason for the win was Hardin Northern's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for four sacks. Ridgedale's QB won't forget Bodi Hipsher anytime soon given he sacked him three times. Hipsher also set a new season high mark in total tackles with seven.
The loss snapped Ridgemont's winning streak at four games and leaves them with a 4-2 record. As for Hardin Northern, their victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 5-1.
Ridgemont was taken down by Hardin Northern 48-6 in their previous matchup back in September of 2023. Thankfully for Ridgemont, Carter Curtis (who rushed for 121 yards and five touchdowns on only 12 carries) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
