Football Preview: Laurens Academy Crusaders vs. Richard Winn Academy Eagles
Laurens Academy is on a three-game streak of home wins, while Richard Winn Academy is on a five-game streak of away wins (dating back to last season): one of those streaks is about to end. The Laurens Academy Crusaders will welcome the Richard Winn Academy Eagles at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Laurens Academy is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of South Carolina's top teams: Newberry Academy, who was ranked seventh in their home state at the time (Laurens Academy was ranked sixth). Laurens Academy blew past Newberry Academy, posting a 36-6 victory at home. That's two games straight that the Crusaders have won by exactly 30 points.
Laurens Academy's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Garrett Murphy led the charge by picking up 111 receiving yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing for 120 yards and a touchdown on only 12 carries. Murphy's rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his sixth straight game with at least 120 rushing yards dating back to last season. Ethan Collins was another key signal caller, throwing for 276 yards and four touchdowns while completing 86.4% of his passes.
Laurens Academy wouldn't let Newberry Academy keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Murphy was the leader in that area as all came courtesy of his dominant performance.
Meanwhile, Richard Winn Academy got the win against King Academy last Friday by a conclusive 48-28.
Charlie Bonds had a dynamite game for Richard Winn Academy, throwing for 184 yards and four touchdowns on perfect 7-for-7 passing, while also rushing for 73 yards and two touchdowns on only six carries. Jake Gaillard was Bonds' top target, picking up 93 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Laurens Academy has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matches, which provided a nice bump to their 6-2 record this season. As for Richard Winn Academy, their win bumped their record up to 7-0.
Laurens Academy was dealt a bruising 56-20 loss at the hands of Richard Winn Academy when the teams last played back in September. That matchup was all but decided by halftime, at which point Laurens Academy was down 35-12.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
