Football Game Preview: East Rankin Academy Patriots vs. Hartfield Academy Hawks

East Rankin Academy hasn't had much luck against Hartfield Academy recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Patriots will be playing in front of their home fans against the Hawks at 7:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

On Friday, East Rankin Academy made easy work of Puckett and carried off a 40-14 win. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Patriots.

Brandon Loper

Rushing Yards (Career)

10/17/25 @ Puckett	315
10/10/25 vs French Camp Academy	214
09/26/25 vs Park Place Christian Academy	202
09/06/24 vs St. Aloysius	191
08/22/25 vs Acadiana Christian	160

It was another big night for Brandon Loper, who rushed for 315 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 15.0 yards per carry. Those 315 rushing yards gave him a new career-high.

Loper was just one part of a punishing run game: East Rankin Academy was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 438 rushing yards. The Patriots are a perfect 6-0 when they've run for more than 200 yards.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Hartfield Academy). They blew past Heritage Academy 49-21 on Friday. The final result isn't all that surprising considering the Hawks' considerable advantage in MaxPreps' Mississippi football rankings (they are ranked 33rd, while the Patriots are ranked 85th).

East Rankin Academy's victory bumped their record up to 6-3. As for Hartfield Academy, their win bumped their record up to 3-5.

East Rankin Academy was dealt a bruising 55-17 loss at the hands of Hartfield Academy in their previous matchup back in October of 2020. That game was all but decided by halftime, at which point the Patriots were down 49-3.