Football Game Preview: Columbus Explorers vs. Miami Stingarees

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Previous Games

10/03/24 - Home	52-6 W
09/28/23 - Home	44-0 W
11/11/22 - Home	64-0 W
09/30/22 - Away	54-14 W
11/06/20 - Home	42-6 W
+ 5 more games

Columbus is 9-1 against Miami since September of 2017 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Thursday. The Explorers will challenge the Stingarees at 7:00 p.m. Columbus will be strutting in after a win while Miami will be coming in after a defeat.

Columbus is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They came out on top against South Dade by a score of 42-34 on Thursday. Given the Explorers' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida football rankings (they are ranked 47th, while the Buccaneers are ranked 126th) , the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Shawn James was his usual excellent self, rushing for 204 yards while picking up 11.3 yards per carry. His longest rush was for an incredible 85 yards.

James was just one part of a punishing run game: Columbus was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 331 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since the start of last season.

Meanwhile, Miami was not able to break out of their rough patch last Friday as the team picked up their third straight loss. They were outmatched by Hialeah and fell 50-14. The Stingarees were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 34-0.

Columbus' first victory this season bumped their record up to 1-4. As for Miami, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-3.

Everything came up roses for Columbus against Miami in their previous matchup back in October of 2024, as the team secured a 52-6 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Explorers since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.