The Ridgedale Rockets will face off against the North Baltimore Tigers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Ridgedale will bounce into Friday's matchup after beating Hardin Northern, who they had gone 0-5 against in their five prior meetings. The Rockets never let the Polar Bears get on the board and left with a 14-0 victory on Friday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Rockets.
Michael Deas had an outrageously good game as he rushed for 90 yards and one touchdown, and also picked up 38 receiving yards.
Ridgedale's run defense was locked in: Hardin Northern could only muster 1.2 yards per carry. The team can thank Deas for the heroic effort on defense: he. Ridgedale didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 6.6.
Ridgedale's defense didn't let the opposing QB, get away unscathed either: they got into the backfield for four sacks. That dominant display was truly a team effort as four different players picked up one apiece.
Meanwhile, a well-balanced attack led North Baltimore over Perry in every quarter on their way to victory on Friday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that the Tigers blew the Commodores out of the water with a 54-6 final score. Considering the Tigers have won five contests by more than 31 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
North Baltimore's win came from a few key players Ridgedale will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Luke Long, who threw for 223 yards and four TDs on only 16 passes, and also rushed for 101 yards and one score on only six carries. He got the majority of those rushing yards when he took off on a run that went for an incredible 66 yards. Another player making a difference was Brody Walter, who rushed for 141 yards and a pair of touchdowns on only 14 carries.
The win got Ridgedale back to even at 3-3. As for North Baltimore, their victory bumped their record up to 6-0.
The upcoming game will be a clash of competing strengths. Ridgedale has deployed a run-first offense that has averaged 149 rushing yards a game. Meanwhile, North Baltimore has preferred to attack from the air: they average 291.7 passing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Friday? There's only one way to find out.
Ridgedale ended up a good deal behind North Baltimore in their previous matchup back in October of 2024, losing 32-13. Will the Rockets have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other football content.
