Two dominant backs in Devin Bates and Maxwell Hawkins are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Garfield G-Men will face off against the Crestview Rebels at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Crestview is hoping to do what Newton Falls couldn't on Friday: put an end to Garfield's winning streak, which now stands at six games. Garfield breezed by Newton Falls at home to the tune of 40-0. With that victory, the G-Men brought their scoring average up to 27.2 points per game.
Garfield found their leader in underclassman Bates, who rushed for 120 yards and two touchdowns. The dominant performance gave Bates a new career-high in rushing yards. Ryder Cain was another key player, rushing for 70 yards and a touchdown.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Garfield was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 364 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 157 rushing yards in 21 consecutive matchups dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Crestview came tearing into Friday's game with six straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 38.8 points) and they left with even more momentum. They claimed a resounding 43-7 win over the Golden Flashes on the road. Given the Rebels' advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio football rankings (they are ranked 308th, while the Golden Flashes are ranked 671st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Hawkins and Jake Noling were among the main playmakers for Crestview as the former rushed for 129 yards and three touchdowns on only 14 carries and the latter threw for 101 yards and two touchdowns on perfect 8-for-8 passing. Hawkins is on a roll when it comes to rushing touchdowns, as he's now punched in two or more in the last seven games he's played dating back to last season.
On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Crestview's defense and their six sacks. In that department, AJ McEwen was the leader with two. He also set a new season high mark in total tackles with six.
Garfield pushed their record up to 7-1 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. As for Crestview, their win bumped their record up to an identical 7-1.
Friday's match might be decided in the on the ground. Garfield has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 270.1 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Crestview struggles in that department as they've been averaging 290.8. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Everything came up roses for Garfield against Crestview in their previous matchup back in October of 2023, as the team secured a 56-7 victory. In that matchup, Garfield amassed a halftime lead of 42-7, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
