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District 10 Game of the Week: Sharpsville at West Middlesex

For the second straight week, Sharpsville will be one half of the Times Observer’s District 10 Game of the Week.

The Blue Devils are certainly hoping for a better outcome this time around.

Last week, Wilmington showed why it’s one of the top 2A teams in the state when the Greyhounds handed Sharpsville, ranked No. 7, a 48-14 beatdown. The victory was made more impressive by the fact that it came on the road.

Despite the lopsided score, the teams know there’s a good chance they’ll see each other again, only then, the stakes would be much higher as nothing less than the District 10 title would be on the line.

Refocusing to this week, Sharpsville will face another tough test when it travels to West Middlesex.

The Big Reds have had a resurgence this year following a 2-9 2017 campaign. Their only loss is to top-ranked Farrell, and they could make a big statement heading into the postseason with a win over the Blue Devils.

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University of Virginia commit Ja’Quay Hubbard anchors a Blue Devil offensive line that has plowed the way for running back Kobe Joseph who has run for 806 yards and 16 touchdowns. Quarterback Nick Alexander has thrown for 1,706 yards with 16 touchdowns and just five interceptions this season. Max Messett (22-429-19.5-4) and Luke Levis (35-517-14.8-5) have been Alexander’s top targets.

Big Reds quarterback Jake Bowen hasn’t taken to the air as often as Alexander, but he has completed 39-80 passes for 613 yards with five touchdowns and four interceptions. WM does have three players over 100 receiving yards on the year with Kaz Hoffman (14-298-21.29-3), Logan Hurley (7-110-15.71) and Clayton Parrish (7-102-14.57-1). Zeb Rubaker (9-98-10-89-1) is knocking on the door for 100 yards as well.

The Big Reds are primarily a running team, and Parrish has excelled this season. He’s averaging better than eight yards per carry (8.6) running 129 times for 1,103 yards and 15 touchdowns. Bowen (70-297-4.2-6) and Rubaker (30-141-4.7-3) have proven themselves capable of carrying the load at times as well.

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Sharpsville is looking for a strong bounce back to prove that last week’s debacle was a one-time only affair. West Middlesex has a chance to prove that it can hang with just about anyone in D-10.

Whichever team can turn the game to their style will likely come out on top.

OUR PREDICTION: Sharpsville 28, West Middlesex 21

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