Football Game Preview: Battle Creek Braves vs. Oakland-Craig Knights

For the first time this season, Battle Creek will have a chance to prove themselves in a conference matchup. They will head out on the road to square off against the Oakland-Craig Knights on Friday. Battle Creek has given up an average of 32.8 points per game this season, but Friday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.

Battle Creek is headed into the contest out to prove that what happened against Bergan Catholic last Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. The Braves had to suffer through a 47-6 loss at the hands of the Knights. The Braves were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 20-0.

Even if they lost, Battle Creek's defensive line still kept up the pressure with five sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Isaiah Bleich and Connor Heiderman, who racked up four sacks between them. Heiderman also set a new season-high mark in total tackles with nine.

Oakland-Craig played against Malcolm last Friday and lost via forfeit.

Oakland-Craig is on a four-game losing streak (dating back to last season) that has dropped them down to 0-3. Even worse, they were so close so many times: the defeats came by an average of only 2.25 points. As for Battle Creek, their loss dropped their record down to 1-3.

Battle Creek beat Oakland-Craig 45-38 in their previous meeting back in September of 2024. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was the Knights' Braylon Anderson, who threw for 381 yards and five TDs while completing 73.5% of his passes, and also punched in one touchdown on the ground. Now that he won't be playing on Friday, will it be easier for the Braves to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.