Western Reserve is 7-2 against Lowellville since October of 2014, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Western Reserve Blue Devils will be playing at home against the Lowellville Rockets at 7:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Western Reserve had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 27.3 points), and they went ahead and made it four on Friday. They took their game at home with ease, bagging a 54-20 victory over David Anderson. Western Reserve pushed the score to 40-20 by the end of the third, a deficit David Anderson had little chance of recovering from.
Western Reserve got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Nathan Hemberger out in front who rushed for 138 yards and six touchdowns while picking up 8.1 yards per carry. Luke Henning was another key contributor, rushing for 157 yards while picking up 9.8 yards per carry.
Meanwhile, Lowellville entered their tilt with Catholic Central with five consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with six. Lowellville blew past Catholic Central 34-0 at home. Given Lowellville's advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio football rankings (they are ranked 249th, while Catholic Central is ranked 527th), the result on Friday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Michael Ballone continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 161 yards and two touchdowns on only seven carries, while also throwing for 200 yards and three touchdowns. Ballone's longest rush was for an incredible 89 yards. Braylen Dabney did his part to keep the secondary busy, picking up 81 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Lowellville's defense stepped up as well, laying out the QB seven times. It was a group effort, with three guys contributing.
Western Reserve's win was their fifth straight at home, bumping their overall record up to 9-2. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 38.4 points per game. As for Lowellville, their win bumped their record up to 10-1.
Friday's game might be decided on the ground as these two are both standouts in the run game. Western Reserve has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 207 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Lowellville struggles in that department as they've been averaging 200.5 per game. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Western Reserve was able to grind out a solid win over Lowellville in their previous matchup back in September, winning 21-14. Will Western Reserve repeat their success, or does Lowellville have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
