The Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy Gryphons will take on the Mountain Island Charter Raptors at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy's defense has only allowed 14 points per game this season, so Mountain Island Charter's offense will have their work cut out for them.
On Friday, Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy lost to North Stanly at home by a 23-6 margin. While losing is never fun, the Gryphons can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 334th, while the Comets are ranked 155th).
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Mountain Island Charter, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Friday. They never let Albemarle get on the board and left with a 14-0 victory on Friday.
Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy better keep an eye on Aamir Gilcreast. He was instrumental in Mountain Island Charter's win, rushing for 103 yards and one touchdown on only 12 carries.
Mountain Island Charter's run defense was locked in: Albemarle could only muster 1.9 yards per carry. The team can thank Ethan Cuadra for the heroic effort on defense: he. Mountain Island Charter didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 9.9.
Mountain Island Charter's defense didn't let Ray Blakeney, get away unscathed either: they got into the backfield for six sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Jason Eaton and Cuadra, who racked up five sacks between them. Cuadra has been hot, having also posted five or more total tackles the last seven times he's played.
Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy's defeat dropped their record down to 3-2. As for Mountain Island Charter, their win bumped their record up to 2-3.
Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy didn't have too much breathing room in their matchup against Mountain Island Charter in their previous meeting back in March of 2021, but they still walked away with a 25-21 victory. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was the Raptors' Dylan Bisson, who threw for 263 yards and one TD while picking up 12.5 yards per attempt, and also punched in one score on the ground. Now that he won't be playing on Friday, will it be easier for the Gryphons to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
