vs
| 10/18/24 - Home | 28-7 W |
| 10/13/23 - Home | 6-22 L |
| 10/14/22 - Away | 27-6 W |
| 10/15/21 - Home | 7-49 L |
| 10/16/20 - Away | 7-28 L |
| + 5 more games |
Shenandoah and Monroe Central are an even 5-5 against one another since October of 2015, but not for long. The Raiders will head out on the road to challenge the Golden Bears at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
Shenandoah is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to 50 points last Friday, they were much more limited against Eastern Hancock on Friday. They took a 14-6 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Royals. The matchup marked the Raiders' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.
Shenandoah's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Jarrett Helman, who threw for 102 yards and one touchdown while completing 76.2% of his passes, and Karter Gray, who picked up 40 receiving yards and one score. An impressive showing, but Helman really ramped things up playing D: he forced one fumble and made 14 total tackles (1.0 for loss) in addition to snagging an interception.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Monroe Central). They blew past Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian, posting a 56-28 victory. With that win, the Golden Bears brought their scoring average up to 27.4 points per game.
Shenandoah better keep an eye on Ethan Hunt. He was instrumental in Monroe Central's win, rushing for 133 yards and five TDs on only ten carries. Those 133 rushing yards gave Hunt a new career-high. Kyler Bogue was in the mix as well, providing Monroe Central with two scores.
Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something Monroe Central proved: they limited Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian to a paltry three yards per carry. While two picked up at least ten total tackles, Hunt stood above the rest. He rushed for 133 yards and five touchdowns on only ten carries. Monroe Central's run defense has been on the up-and-up: they allowed five yards per carry earlier this season, but they've only allowed 7.07 on average over their last five games.
Monroe Central is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four games. That's provided a massive bump to their 4-4 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 38.0 points over those games. As for Shenandoah, with the defeat, they broke their four-game winning streak and moved their record to 5-3.
Friday's matchup might be decided on the ground. Shenandoah has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 181 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Monroe Central struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 237.4 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's contest turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Shenandoah took their win against Monroe Central when the teams last played back in October of 2024 by a conclusive 28-7 score. In that game, the Raiders amassed a halftime lead of 21-0, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.
