Football Preview: Aquinas Fightin' Irish vs. Hephzibah Rebels
After each having a week off, the Aquinas Fightin' Irish and the Hephzibah Rebels will shake off the cobwebs and take on one another at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Hephzibah took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Aquinas, who comes in off a win.
Aquinas took a loss when they played away from home back in August, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed last Friday. They blew past Bryan County 42-20.
Aquinas' win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Jim Franklin, who threw for 211 yards and two touchdowns while completing 72.2% of his passes, and also rushed for 56 yards. Another back making a difference was Christian Kates, who rushed for 84 yards and two touchdowns.
Kates wasn't the only one working in the rushing yards department: Aquinas was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 229 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in August of 2023.
Meanwhile, Hephzibah came up short against Laney last Friday and fell 30-21. The Rebels haven't had much luck with the Wildcats recently, as the team's come up short the last two times they've met.
Despite the loss, Hephzibah saw an underclassman step up: Reante Byrd rushed for 183 yards and two touchdowns on only 11 carries. Byrd's longest rush was for an incredible 90 yards. JJ Gant was another key passer, rushing for 101 yards and a touchdown on only 11 carries.
Aquinas' win was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 1-1. As for Hephzibah, their defeat dropped their record down to an identical 1-1.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
