Football Preview: Tuscaloosa Christian Warriors vs. Russell Christian Academy Warriors
Tuscaloosa Christian is 1-9 against Russell Christian Academy since August of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Tuscaloosa Christian Warriors will face off against the Russell Christian Academy Warriors. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Tuscaloosa Christian is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another highly-ranked state team: Victory Christian, who was ranked 21st at the time (Tuscaloosa Christian was ranked 13th). Tuscaloosa Christian blew past Victory Christian 40-16 on Friday. The victory was familiar territory for the Warriors who have now won five contests in a row.
Tuscaloosa Christian can attribute much of their success to Alex Anglin, who threw for 118 yards and four touchdowns, and Alec Joiner, who picked up 82 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Russell Christian Academy). They blew past North River Christian 68-8 at home on Friday. The team's explosion on offense also rewarded the Warriors with their most commanding win of the season.
Russell Christian Academy's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Ty Jones led the charge by rushing for 141 yards and four touchdowns on only seven carries. Jones' rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his 14th straight game with at least 106 rushing yards dating back to last season. Another player making a difference was Bo Morphis, who rushed for 122 yards and a touchdown on only six carries.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Russell Christian Academy was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 352 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in October of 2023.
Russell Christian Academy didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off five passes before the game was over. Jones led the group effort, picking up two of those interceptions all by himself.
Tuscaloosa Christian's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 6-3. As for Russell Christian Academy, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 7-2.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Tuscaloosa Christian has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 184.4 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Russell Christian Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 271.8. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Tuscaloosa Christian was taken down by Russell Christian Academy 59-20 in their previous meeting back in September. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Jones, who rushed for 220 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 9.2 yards per carry, and also threw for 72 yards and a touchdown. Now that Tuscaloosa Christian knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
