The Palatka Panthers will face off against the Newberry Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both will really light up the scoreboard.
Newberry is hoping to do what Nature Coast Tech couldn't on Friday: put an end to Palatka's winning streak, which now stands at four games. Palatka walked away with a 34-26 victory over Nature Coast Tech.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Palatka to victory, but perhaps none more so than Justin Fells, who rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns. The dominant performance gave Fells a new career-high in rushing yards. The team also got some help courtesy of Lawrence Evans, who rushed for 97 yards and a touchdown on only 12 carries.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Palatka was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 295 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 162 rushing yards in five consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Newberry). They claimed a resounding 48-0 win over Keystone Heights at home. Given the Panthers' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida football rankings (they are ranked 97th, while the Indians are ranked 311th), the result two weeks ago wasn't entirely unexpected.
Kaleb Woods continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 194 yards and four touchdowns on only 11 carries. His longest rush was for an incredible 81 yards. Another player making a difference was Kobe Johnson, who threw for 63 yards and two touchdowns on only six passes.
Another reason for the win was Newberry's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for ten sacks. Malachi Lancaster and Jarquez Carter were the leaders of the group effort as each produced three apiece. Carter also set a new season high mark in sacks with three.
Palatka's victory bumped their record up to 4-1. As for Newberry, the win got them back to even at 2-2.
Friday's game might be decided in the on the ground. Palatka has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 237.4 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Newberry struggles in that department as they've been averaging 214.5. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Palatka came up short against Newberry in their previous meeting back in September of 2021, falling 37-30. Can Palatka avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
