Football Preview: Paul VI Panthers vs. St. Albans Bulldogs
Paul VI has been on the road for two straight, but on Friday they'll finally head home. They will host the St. Albans Bulldogs at 7:00 p.m. Paul VI's defense has only allowed 12 points per game this season, so St. Albans' offense will have their work cut out for them.
Last Saturday, Paul VI was able to grind out a solid victory over Collegiate, taking the game 20-7.
Paul VI was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 279 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, St. Albans put another one in the bag last Saturday to keep their perfect season alive. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Saint John Paul the Great Catholic 42-0 at home. 42 seems to be a good number for the Bulldogs as the squad scooped up a win with the same number of points in their previous game.
A big part of St. Albans' victory came down to the chemistry between Brett Paukstis and his top target Zahir Cobb. Paukstis threw for 328 yards and five touchdowns while completing 73.3% of his passes while Cobb picked up 160 receiving yards and three touchdowns. The team also got some help courtesy of Lacy Rice, who picked up 105 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
St. Albans' defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged three passes before it was all said and done. It was truly a group effort as Wilson Searby, Cobb, and Paulos Preston picked up one apiece. With that strong performance, Preston is now averaging an impressive 5.8 total tackles per game.
Paul VI's win bumped their record up to 3-1. As for St. Albans, their victory bumped their record up to 4-0.
The upcoming contest will be a clash of competing strengths. Paul VI has deployed a run-first offense that has averaged 177.8 rushing yards a game. Meanwhile, St. Albans has preferred to attack from the air: they average 329 passing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Friday? There's only one way to find out.
Paul VI was able to grind out a solid win over St. Albans when the teams last played back in September of 2023, winning 35-28. Will Paul VI repeat their success, or does St. Albans have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
