Football Game Preview: Johnson Crusaders vs. Manasquan Warriors

The Johnson Crusaders will face off against the Manasquan Warriors at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Johnson sitting on six straight victories and Manasquan on five.

On Friday, Johnson got the win against Perth Amboy by a conclusive 34-8. The result was nothing new for the Crusaders, who have now won four contests by 26 points or more so far this season.

Johnson can attribute much of their success to Manny Rendeiro, who rushed for 55 yards and one TD.

Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something Johnson proved: they limited Perth Amboy to a paltry 1.6 yards per carry. The Crusaders didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 11.8.

Meanwhile, Manasquan won against Brick Township two weeks ago with 34 points and they decided to stick to that point total again on Saturday. The Warriors beat Colts Neck by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 34-14. Given the Warriors' advantage in MaxPreps' New Jersey football rankings (they are ranked 103rd, while the Cougars are ranked 258th) , the win wasn't entirely unexpected.

Johnson's record now sits at 7-1. As for Manasquan, their record is now an identical 7-1.

Johnson came up short against Manasquan when the teams last played back in November of 2016, falling 33-29. Can the Crusaders avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.