Football Preview: Asheville School (Independent) Blues vs. Trinity Christian Crusaders
Two dominant signal callers in Ricky Tolbert and Elijiah Oehlke are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Asheville School (Independent) Blues will square off against the Trinity Christian Crusaders at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Asheville School (Independent) sitting on three straight wins and Trinity Christian on ten.
Asheville School (Independent) is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They took their matchup with ease, bagging a 51-9 victory over Hickory Grove Christian. The Blues might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five games by 32 points or more this season.
Tolbert was his usual excellent self, throwing for 326 yards and six touchdowns while completing 81.3% of his passes. Hayezon Tobe was another key player, picking up 117 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Trinity Christian has relied on a stalwart defense averaging 13.73 points allowed per game, but that average took a hit on Friday. They snuck past High Point Christian Academy with a 50-44 win.
It was another big night for Oehlke, who threw for 434 yards and five touchdowns while completing 72.7% of his passes, and also punched in a touchdown on the ground. What's more, he also racked up 25 rushing yards, the most he's had since back in September. Another player making a difference was Karlfonza McLean-Smith, who picked up 150 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Another reason for the win was Trinity Christian's imposing defensive line, which managed to get into the backfield for three sacks. In fact, those sacks all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Amari Robinson. Dontario Austin was another major factor on D, making 12 total tackles.
Trinity Christian's victory was their sixth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 10-1. Those good results were due in large part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 12.5 points per game. As for Asheville School (Independent), their win bumped their record up to 6-1.
We should be in store for an exciting game as Asheville School (Independent) and Trinity Christian have no problem gaining yardage. Asheville School (Independent) has been on an offensive roll this season, having averaged 355.2 total yards per game. However, it's not like Trinity Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 368.6. With a pair of commanding offenses duking it out, the defenses are going to have their work cut out for them.
Asheville School (Independent) beat Trinity Christian 42-29 in their previous meeting back in November of 2023. Does Asheville School (Independent) have another victory up their sleeve, or will Trinity Christian turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
