Football Game Preview: Padua Franciscan Bruins vs. Lake Catholic Cougars

The Padua Franciscan Bruins will face off against the Lake Catholic Cougars at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Padua Franciscan has given up an average of 25.6 points per game this season, but Friday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.

Padua Franciscan is headed into Friday's contest looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their third straight games on Friday. They were outmatched by Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin and fell 48-6. The Bruins were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 35-0.

Meanwhile, Lake Catholic owes their defense a big pat on the back after their performance on Friday. They put the hurt on Elyria Catholic with a sharp 26-0 victory. Given the Cougars' advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio football rankings (they are ranked 75th, while the Panthers are ranked 290th) , the win wasn't entirely unexpected.

Padua Franciscan better focus on containing Max Pisano and Danny Zmorowski as the pair were huge in Lake Catholic's win. Pisano rushed for 90 yards and a pair of scores on only eight carries, while Zmorowski rushed for 103 yards and one touchdown on only 13 carries. Pisano's longest rush was for an impressive 55 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total.

Lake Catholic's defense made their presence known, laying out the QB six times. Elyria Catholic's QB won't forget Marty Loncar anytime soon given he sacked him twice. Loncar has become a key player for Lake Catholic: the team is undefeated when he posts at least one sack, but 1-2 otherwise.

Lake Catholic's win bumped their record up to 5-2. As for Padua Franciscan, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-6.

Padua Franciscan took a serious blow against Lake Catholic when the teams last played back in October of 2024, falling 46-17. Thankfully for the Bruins, Frankie Trinetti (who threw for 324 yards and four TDs while completing 72% of his passes) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.