Preview: Gainesville Cardinals vs. Unity Reed Lions
The Gainesville Cardinals will head out on the road to face off against the Unity Reed Lions at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Gainesville is looking to tack on another W to their five-game streak on the road dating back to last season.
Gainesville put the finishing touches on their fourth blowout victory of the season on Friday. They blew past Freedom 51-18 at home. Given Gainesville's advantage in MaxPreps' Virginia football rankings (they are ranked 62nd, while Freedom is ranked 200th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Gainesville's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Aidan McClafferty, who picked up 345 receiving yards and two touchdowns, and Colton Kilmer, who threw for 440 yards and five touchdowns while completing 76.5% of his passes. McClafferty's longest reception was for an incredible 88 yards. Wyatt Bach was in the mix too, providing Gainesville with two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Unity Reed got themselves on the board against Osbourn Park on Friday, but Osbourn Park never followed suit. They breezed by the Yellowjackets on the road to the tune of 47-0. The win made it back-to-back wins for Unity Reed.
Gainesville's win pushed their record up to 7-2, while Unity Reed's bumped their own up to the opposite: 2-7.
Gainesville was dealt a bruising 48-21 loss at the hands of Unity Reed in their previous meeting back in October of 2022. Can Gainesville avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
