The Red Lion Lions will square off against the Spring Grove Rockets at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Red Lion has given up an average of 34.5 points per game this season, but Friday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Red Lion is headed into the matchup out to prove that what happened against South Western on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. The Lions were outmatched by the Mustangs and fell 48-12. The Lions haven't had much luck with the Mustangs recently, as the team has come up short the last five times they've met.
Despite the loss, Red Lion had strong showings from Julian Cedrone, who picked up 117 receiving yards and a pair of scores, and Mason Platts, who threw for 321 yards and two touchdowns. Cedrone also put in work on the defensive side of the ball, picking up a sack and making one tackle.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Spring Grove, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Friday. They blew past Northeastern 55-0 on Friday. The Rockets haven't had any issues with the Bobcats recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive victory against them.
Spring Grove's win came from a few key players Red Lion will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Brody Redding, who rushed for 99 yards and two TDs on only six carries. The team also got some help courtesy of Davis Baum, who rushed for 36 yards and one touchdown.
Spring Grove didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Zane Lawrence and Kenny Garcia. Garcia got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.
Special teams was a major factor in the game for Spring Grove, racking up 11 points in total. The biggest highlight from special teams (and perhaps the team as a whole) came courtesy of Jordan Eisenhart, who ran a punt back for a touchdown.
Red Lion's defeat dropped their record down to 2-4. As for Spring Grove, their win bumped their record up to 4-2.
Red Lion and Spring Grove were neck-and-neck when the teams last played back in October of 2024, but Red Lion came up empty-handed after a 35-34 loss. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Baum, who threw for 218 yards and three TDs on only 17 passes, and also punched in one score. Now that the Lions know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
