Valwood and Tiftarea Academy are an even 5-5 against one another since September of 2015, but not for long. The Valwood Valiants will challenge the Tiftarea Academy Panthers at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Valwood is no doubt hoping to put an end to a three-game streak of away losses.
Valwood is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. Everything went their way against Frederica Academy as Valwood made off with a 35-14 victory. The result was nothing new for the Valiants, who have now won five games by 21 points or more so far this season.
Valwood found their leader in freshman Asher Wells, who threw for 142 yards and two touchdowns on only 12 passes, and also punched in two touchdowns on the ground. Valwood also got a significant boost from Braylon Neal, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 92 yards.
Valwood wouldn't let Frederica Academy keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Valwood can thank Wilkin Moritz and Gavin Chambers for forcing both of them. With that strong performance, Chambers is now averaging an impressive 5.1 total tackles per game. Another thorn in Frederica Academy's side was Hudson Paylo, who made 11 total tackles (4.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, Tiftarea Academy entered their tilt with John Milledge Academy on Friday with five consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with six. They enjoyed a cozy 35-21 win over the Trojans.
John Robert Walker continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 220 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 8.8 yards per carry, and also throwing for 107 yards and a touchdown. He has been hot for a while, having posted two or more rushing touchdowns the last ten times he's played.
Tiftarea Academy was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 326 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 157 rushing yards in 14 consecutive matchups dating back to last season.
Valwood's victory bumped their record up to 8-3. As for Tiftarea Academy, their win bumped their record up to 10-1.
Friday's match might be decided in the on the ground. Valwood has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 255.3 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Tiftarea Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 257.4. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Valwood came up short against Tiftarea Academy when the teams last played last Friday, falling 27-21. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Walker, who rushed for 214 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 7.6 yards per carry, and also threw for 155 yards and a touchdown on only 12 passes. Now that Valwood knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
