The St. James Academy Thunder will face off against the Blue Valley Tigers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Blue Valley took a loss in their last match and will be looking to turn the tables on St. James Academy, who comes in off a win.
St. James Academy is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Kansas' top teams: Blue Valley Northwest, who was ranked eighth at the time (St. James Academy was ranked seventh). The Thunder took down the Huskies 21-7 on Friday.
Jake House went supernova, rushing for 218 yards and one TD while picking up 9.5 yards per carry. Another player making a difference was Preston Canzoneri, who picked up 44 receiving yards and a pair of scores.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: St. James Academy was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 244 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since the start of last season.
Meanwhile, Blue Valley came up short against Saint Thomas Aquinas on Friday, falling 42-21. The Tigers haven't had much luck with the Saints recently, as the team has come up short the last four times they've met.
St. James Academy will have to keep a close watch on Dan Sogard and Jacob Lockett, a pair of players who had a big impact on Blue Valley's prior game. Sogard threw for 162 yards and two touchdowns, while Lockett picked up 118 receiving yards and one TD.
Blue Valley now has a losing record of 1-2. As for St. James Academy, they now have a winning record of 2-1.
Friday's contest might be decided in the trenches. St. James Academy has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 174.7 rushing yards per game. It's a different story for Blue Valley, though, as they've been averaging only 79.7 rushing yards. How will they fare against such a dominant running game?
St. James Academy took their win against Blue Valley when the teams last played back in November of 2024 by a conclusive 48-22 score. Do the Thunder have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Tigers turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
