Football Game Preview: Minerva Lions vs. Alliance Aviators

Minerva hasn't had much luck against Alliance recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Lions will square off against the Aviators at 7:00 p.m. Alliance took a loss in their last contest and will be looking to turn the tables on Minerva, who comes in off a win.

Minerva will bounce into Friday's game after beating Marlington, who they had gone 0-9 against in their nine prior meetings. The Lions' defense stepped up to hand the Dukes a 7-0 shutout on Friday.

Meanwhile, Alliance was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Friday as they fell 34-28 to West Branch. The defeat continues a trend for the Aviators in their meetings with the Warriors: they've now lost six in a row.

Although Alliance took the loss, they still got scores from Caydan Sanders, Cashe Brisker, Kam Burton, and Jarrin Blair.

Alliance's loss was their first in the conference, dropping their conference record down to 2-1 and their overall record down to 6-2. As for Minerva, their victory was their first in the conference, bumping their conference record up to 1-2 and their overall record up to 5-3.

Minerva was dealt a bruising 41-7 defeat at the hands of Alliance when the teams last played back in October of 2024. Can the Lions avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.