Football Preview: Clinton Cardinals vs. Oak Grove Panthers
Clinton hasn't had much luck against Oak Grove recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Clinton Cardinals are taking a road trip to square off against the Oak Grove Panthers at 7:00 p.m. Given that both suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this contest.
Clinton is headed into Friday's matchup looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their fifth straight game dating back to last season on Friday. They had to suffer through a 42-15 loss at the hands of Pleasant Hill. While losing is never fun, the Cardinals can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Missouri football rankings (they are ranked 230th, while the Roosters/Chicks are ranked 105th).
Meanwhile, Oak Grove didn't have quite enough to beat Odessa on Friday and fell 22-19. The loss continues a trend for the Panthers in their matchups with the Bulldogs: they've now lost eight in a row.
Oak Grove's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Matthew Lindsey, who rushed for 163 yards, and Noah Spencer, who rushed for 67 yards and a touchdown on only six carries. Spencer's longest rush was for an impressive 57 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total.
Oak Grove wouldn't let Odessa keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Mason Morris was the leader in that area as all came courtesy of his dominant performance. He also set a new season high mark in total tackles with nine.
Most of the squad's points came courtesy of special teams, who contributed 13 in total. All those points came courtesy of Diego Perez: he added 12 points with four field goals, and another on an extra-point kick.
Clinton's record is now 0-4. As for Oak Grove, their record is now 2-2.
Clinton took a serious blow against Oak Grove in their previous meeting back in September of 2023, falling 49-6. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Spencer, who rushed for 168 yards and two touchdowns on only ten carries. Now that Clinton knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
