Football Preview: Tampa Catholic Crusaders vs. Berkeley Prep Buccaneers
Two dominant backs in Joshua Balloon Jr and Joseph Troupe are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Tampa Catholic Crusaders will face off against the Berkeley Prep Buccaneers at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Tampa Catholic is coming into the match on a four-game losing streak.
Last Friday, Tampa Catholic came up short against Jesuit and fell 31-21. While the Crusaders had to settle for second, they closed the game well in the third quarter, where they outscored the Tigers 14-3.
Meanwhile, Berkeley Prep got the win against Alonso on Friday by a conclusive 42-21. With that win, the Buccaneers brought their scoring average up to 27 points per game.
Berkeley Prep had a senior duo take command as Dallas Golden gained 144 total yards and three touchdowns and Troupe rushed for 148 yards and a touchdown on only 15 carries. That's the most rushing yards Troupe has posted since back in November of 2023. Cooper Hayes was another key player, throwing for 97 yards and two touchdowns.
Berkeley Prep didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Rico Garcia, Dylan Mcdonough, and Owen Watts picked up one apiece. Berkeley Prep got some further help from Mateo Brink: he picked up a sack, forced a fumble, and made six total tackles.
Tampa Catholic's defeat dropped their record down to 2-6. As for Berkeley Prep, the victory got them back to even at 4-4.
Things could have been worse for Tampa Catholic, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 42-28 loss to Berkeley Prep when the teams last played back in November of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Troupe, who rushed for 157 yards and two touchdowns. Now that Tampa Catholic knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
