Football Preview: Pope John XXIII vs. St. John-Vianney Lancers
Pope John XXIII will face off against the St. John-Vianney Lancers at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. Pope John XXIII is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 26.9 points per game this season.
Pope John XXIII is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They managed a 14-10 victory over Paramus Catholic. The win made it back-to-back victories for Pope John XXIII.
The critical scores for Pope John XXIII came from Tylik Hill and Sam Conetta.
Meanwhile, St. John-Vianney came tearing into Friday's match with five straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 20.4 points) and they left with even more momentum. They secured a 31-27 W over the Caseys.
St. John-Vianney found their leader in sophomore Abdul Turay, who rushed for 177 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 7.1 yards per carry. Turay's rushing production has been exceptional as that marked his sixth straight game with at least 177 rushing yards. Zach Labarca was another key player, throwing for 176 yards and two touchdowns.
St. John-Vianney was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 205 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 205 rushing yards in ten consecutive matchups.
St. John-Vianney's defense made their presence known, laying out the QB five times. Thomas Foley was especially locked on to Red Bank Catholic's QB and sacked him twice.
St. John-Vianney's win bumped their record up to 9-3. As for Pope John XXIII, their victory bumped their record up to 4-7.
Saturday's game might be decided in the on the ground. Pope John XXIII has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 215.6 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like St. John-Vianney struggles in that department as they've been averaging 247.4. It's looking like Saturday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Everything went Pope John XXIII's way against St. John-Vianney in their previous meeting back in November of 2018, as Pope John XXIII made off with a 33-12 win. Does Pope John XXIII have another victory up their sleeve, or will St. John-Vianney turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
