Two dominant backs in Ethan Corpus and Dylan Maina are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Allatoona Buccaneers will be playing in front of their home fans against the Hiram Hornets at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Allatoona has given up an average of 26.4 points per game this season, but Friday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Allatoona is headed into the contest out to prove that what happened against Cartersville on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. The Buccaneers lost 48-24 to the Hurricanes. The Buccaneers haven't had much luck with the Hurricanes recently, as the team has come up short the last eight times they've met.
Meanwhile, Hiram waltzed into their game on Friday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They blew past the Wildcats 42-7. That looming 42-7 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Hornets yet this season.
Hiram's win came from a few key players Allatoona will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Ben Scott, who rushed for 101 yards on only 11 carries. Those 101 rushing yards gave him a new career-high. Adarius Anderson was in the mix too, providing Hiram with one score.
Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something Hiram proved: they limited Woodland to a paltry -0.2 yards per carry. The team can thank Maina for the heroic effort on defense: he. Hiram's ground attack was stronger, having averaged 4.9.
Hiram's defense didn't let Sam Ray Iv, get away unscathed either: they got into the backfield for six sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Michael Smallwood and James Marshall, who racked up four sacks between them. Marshall also made four total tackles, which is notable because Hiram is 2-1 when he posts at least four total tackles, but 2-3 otherwise. The Hornets received some extra help from Anderson, whose fumble return for a touchdown made for one of the most unforgettable moments.
The win got Hiram back to even at 4-4. As for Allatoona, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-5.
Allatoona took a serious blow against Hiram when the teams last played back in October of 2024, falling 52-7. Thankfully for the Buccaneers, Dashaun Williams (who rushed for 162 yards and two TDs on only nine 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
