Football Game Preview: Maranatha Christian Eagles vs. Tri-City Christian Eagles

Maranatha Christian will head out on the road to challenge Tri-City Christian at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Maranatha Christian has four straight victories, Tri-City Christian has seven straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

Maranatha Christian barely beat Foothills Christian the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Eagles blew past the Knights 58-6 last Friday. That 52 point margin sets a new team best for the Eagles this season.

Jack Ralston

Rushing Yards (Career)

09/19/25 vs Foothills Christian	95
09/05/25 vs Orange Glen	49
10/25/24 @ Rock Academy	3
08/30/24 @ Nuview Bridge	-1

Maranatha Christian relied on the efforts of Shane Piester, who threw for 151 yards and two touchdowns while completing 84.6% of his passes, and Jack Ralston, who rushed for 95 yards and one score. Those 95 rushing yards gave Ralston a new career-high. Hudson Heinrichs did his part to keep the secondary busy, picking up 97 receiving yards.

They were just one part of a punishing run game: Maranatha Christian was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 239 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 175 rushing yards in three consecutive matchups.

Meanwhile, Tri-City Christian was beaten by Rock Academy 44-6 on Friday.

Tri-City Christian's loss dropped their record down to 0-5. As for Maranatha Christian, their record is now 4-1.

Maranatha Christian came up short against Tri-City Christian when the teams last played back in October of 2024, falling 27-21. Thankfully for Maranatha Christian, Joel Valverde (who threw for 337 yards and four TDs while picking up 10.9 yards per attempt, and also rushed for 50 yards) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.