Football Game Preview: Tampa Catholic Crusaders vs. Brandon Eagles

The Tampa Catholic Crusaders will look to take advantage of their home field for the first time this season as they take on the Brandon Eagles at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Brandon took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Tampa Catholic, who comes in off a win.

Tampa Catholic's defense heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They took their game with ease, bagging a 46-0 victory over Bayshore Christian. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Crusaders.

Ava Kopp

Passing Yards (Career)

02/21/25 @ Bayshore Christian	244
02/17/25 @ Seffner Christian	206
03/08/24 vs Navarre	133
02/27/24 @ Sickles	132
02/20/24 vs Brandon	115

Ava Kopp went supernova for Tampa Catholic, rushing for 51 yards and three touchdowns, while also throwing for 244 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 10.6 yards per attempt. Those 244 passing yards gave Kopp a new career-high. Izzy Rein was Kopp's top target, picking up 111 receiving yards and one touchdown.

Tampa Catholic didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off four passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Taylor Gardner, Audrey Kopp, Isabella Maldonado, and Samantha Dobson picked up one apiece. Dobson has been hot, having also posted at least one defended passe the last five times she's played.

Meanwhile, Brandon was not able to break out of their rough patch on Monday as the team picked up their fourth straight defeat dating back to last season. They were a single point away from ending the streak, but they lost a 13-12 heartbreaker at the hands of Tampa Bay Tech.

Tampa Catholic's win bumped their record up to 2-0. As for Brandon, their loss dropped their record down to 0-3.

Tampa Catholic took their victory against Brandon in their previous matchup back in February of 2024 by a conclusive 27-6. Will Tampa Catholic repeat their success, or does Brandon have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.