Preview: Rootstown Rovers vs. John F. Kennedy Catholic Eagles
Rootstown has enjoyed a three-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will take on the John F. Kennedy Catholic Eagles at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Rootstown will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Ohio Rankings (they are ranked 697th, while John F. Kennedy Catholic is ranked 19th).
On Tuesday, things could have been worse for Rootstown, but they could have been a whole lot better as they took a 60-45 loss to Cardinal. Rootstown has not had much luck with Cardinal recently, as the team's come up short the last two times they've met.
Meanwhile, John F. Kennedy Catholic came tearing into Friday's game with five straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 17.6 points) and they left with even more momentum. They claimed a resounding 74-41 win over Southeast at home. John F. Kennedy Catholic has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won four matchups by 29 points or more this season.
John F. Kennedy Catholic's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Nick Ryan, who dropped a double-double on 17 points and ten rebounds. Ryan hasn't dropped below 15points for five straight games. Nico Ciminero was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with ten assists and five steals.
Rootstown's loss was their fifth straight at home, which bumped their record down to 2-10. As for John F. Kennedy Catholic, their victory bumped their record up to 11-1.
Rootstown took a serious blow against John F. Kennedy Catholic in their previous matchup back in January of 2023, falling 84-56. The matchup was all but decided by halftime, at which point Rootstown was down 52-21.
