After each having a week off, the Fellowship Christian Paladins and the Wesleyan Wolves will shake off the rust and duke it out at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Fellowship Christian's defense heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed last Friday. They breezed past Mount Pisgah Christian to the tune of 70-0. The win was familiar territory for the Paladins, who have now won five contests in a row.
Fellowship Christian got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Jonathan Granby out in front who rushed for 81 yards and two touchdowns, and also threw for 114 yards and one TD while completing 83.3% of his passes. Cj Givers was another key rusher, gaining 115 total yards.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Fellowship Christian was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 251 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 218 rushing yards in four consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, Wesleyan took their game last Friday with ease, bagging a 49-7 win over King's Ridge Christian. The contest was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 35-0.
Fellowship Christian better keep an eye on Maddox Gartland. He was instrumental in Wesleyan's win, rushing for 180 yards and a pair of scores while picking up 11.3 yards per carry. The dominant performance also gave Gartland a new career-high in rushing touchdowns (two). Another signal caller making a difference was Jameson Hilton, who threw for 118 yards and three touchdowns while completing 87.5% of his passes.
Fellowship Christian's victory bumped their record up to 6-1. As for Wesleyan, their win bumped their record up to 6-2.
Friday's matchup might be decided on the ground. Fellowship Christian has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 220.3 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Wesleyan struggles in that department as they've been averaging 173.5 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's game turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Fellowship Christian strolled past Wesleyan in their previous meeting back in November of 2024 by a score of 28-14. Will the Paladins repeat their success, or do the Wolves have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
