Two dominant signal callers in Hunter Hochbaum and Keller Stocks are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Mater Dei Knights will be playing in front of their home fans against the Mt. Zion Braves at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Mater Dei's favor is that they have posted at least 31 points in their last five contests.
Mater Dei took a loss when they played away from home last Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They blew past St. Teresa 65-39. With the Knights ahead 44-21 at the half, the game was all but over already.
Mater Dei's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Bodie Brockmeier, who rushed for 77 yards and one TD, and also caught one touchdown. Reed Pingsterhaus was another key pass catcher, picking up 99 receiving yards and a pair of scores.
Meanwhile, Mt. Zion came tearing into Friday's matchup with five straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 32.8 points), and they left with even more momentum. They came out on top against the Tornadoes by a score of 25-12. The final result isn't all that surprising considering the Braves' considerable advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois football rankings (they are ranked 59th, while the Tornadoes are ranked 209th).
Mater Dei better focus on containing JC Anderson and Kellen Bollhorst as the pair were huge in Mt. Zion's win. Anderson gained 67 total yards and two touchdowns, while Bollhorst rushed for 104 yards.
Mt. Zion's run defense was locked in: Taylorville could only muster 2.8 yards per carry. While three picked up at least five total tackles, Brody Lipa stood above the rest. He picked up 50 receiving yards. Mt. Zion's run defense has been on the up-and-up: they allowed 4.56 yards per carry earlier this season, but they've only allowed 7.33 on average over their last five games.
Mt. Zion's defense didn't let Cameron Smith, get away unscathed either: they got into the backfield for three sacks. Kalvin Becker was especially locked on to Taylorville's QB and sacked him twice.
Mt. Zion's win bumped their record up to 7-1. As for Mater Dei, their victory bumped their record up to 3-5.
Mater Dei lost to Mt. Zion at home by a decisive 56-37 margin in their previous matchup back in October of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Stocks, who rushed for 166 yards and four TDs on only nine carries, and also threw for 316 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 13.7 yards per attempt. Now that the Knights know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
