Football Preview: Cranford Cougars vs. Colonia Patriots
After four games on the road, Cranford is heading back home. They will host the Colonia Patriots at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Cranford's defense has only allowed 13.2 points per game this season, so Colonia's offense will have their work cut out for them.
Cranford is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They really took it to Scotch Plains-Fanwood for the full four quarters, racking up a 45-13 win on the road. Considering the Cougars have won three games by more than 20 points this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Cranford was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 219 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 188 rushing yards in three consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, Colonia suffered their biggest loss since October 13, 2023 on Friday. They were dealt a 35-6 defeat at the hands of Plainfield. The match marked the Patriots' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.
Colonia didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Jaylen Mcrae and Anthony Garofalo. Garofalo also made six total tackles, which is notable because Colonia is 3-1 when he posts at least four total tackles, but 1-2 otherwise. Colonia got some further help from Julien Jones: he picked up a sack and made 12 total tackles (2.0 for loss).
Cranford's victory bumped their record up to 4-2. As for Colonia, they have been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four games, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-3 record this season.
Cranford beat Colonia 27-14 when the teams last played back in October of 2021. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Colonia's Joshua Oluremi, who rushed for 177 yards and two touchdowns on only 11 carries. Now that he won't be playing on Friday, will it be easier for Cranford to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
