Pickerington North has enjoyed the comforts of home their last two games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will take on the Hilliard Bradley Jaguars at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in Ohio (Pickerington North is ranked tenth, while Hilliard Bradley is ranked 16th).
It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Pickerington North had no problem doing just that on Friday. They took down Hilliard Darby 35-16. Pickerington North pushed the score to 28-3 by the end of the third, a deficit Hilliard Darby cut but never quite recovered from.
Michael Taylor was the offensive standout of the contest as he rushed for 132 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 7.8 yards per carry. Preston Bowman also helped out with an impressive 100 receiving yards.
Meanwhile, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Hilliard Bradley beat Westerville North 27-22 on Friday. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Hilliard Bradley.
It was another big night for Bradyn Fleharty, who rushed for 135 yards and a touchdown on only 15 carries, and also threw for 191 yards and two touchdowns.
Pickerington North pushed their record up to 11-1 with that win, which was their ninth straight at home dating back to last season. As for Hilliard Bradley, their victory bumped their record up to an identical 11-1.
Everything came up roses for Pickerington North against Hilliard Bradley when the teams last played back in November of 2016 as the team secured a 49-21 win. Will Pickerington North repeat their success, or does Hilliard Bradley have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
