Football Preview: St. Anthony's Friars vs. Archbishop Stepinac Crusaders
St. Anthony has been on the road for three straight, but on Friday they'll finally head home. They will host the Archbishop Stepinac Crusaders at 7:00 p.m. St. Anthony's will be strutting in after a victory while Archbishop Stepinac will be coming in after a loss.
St. Anthony's is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They came out on top against Monsignor Farrell by a score of 35-27 on Friday. The high-flying offensive performance was a huge turnaround for the Friars considering their ten-point performance the game before.
It was another big night for Gary Merrill, who rushed for 168 yards and three touchdowns, and also threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns. That's the most rushing yards he has posted since back in September of 2023. Will Hart was Merrill's top target, picking up 105 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, St. Anthony's was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 246 rushing yards. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved they're rushing yard total in three consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Archbishop Stepinac faced Iona Prep in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Saturday. Archbishop Stepinac was outmatched by Iona Prep at home and fell 43-13. The defeat leaves the Crusaders without a win on the season.
Archbishop Stepinac's loss came about despite a quality game from Zaire Spellman, who picked up 88 receiving yards and a touchdown.
The win got St. Anthony's back to even at 2-2. As for Archbishop Stepinac, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-4.
St. Anthony's might still be hurting after the 56-35 loss they got from Archbishop Stepinac in their previous meeting back in October of 2023. Will St. Anthony's have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more football content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
