Football Preview: Pender Pendragons vs. Guardian Angels Central Catholic Bluejays
After two games on the road, Pender is heading back home. They will welcome the Guardian Angels Central Catholic Bluejays at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Pender is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They blew past Homer 60-36 on Friday. Given the Pendragons' advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska football rankings (they are ranked 34th, while the Knights are ranked 101st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Owen Kneifl, who rushed for 179 yards and five touchdowns while picking up 7.8 yards per carry. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 2.2 rushing touchdowns per game. Another player making a difference was Trevor Trimble, who gained 131 total yards and four touchdowns.
Pender's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged four passes before it was all said and done. Alex Roth led the group effort, picking up two of those interceptions all by himself. The dominant performance also gave Trimble a new career-high in rushing yards.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Pender was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 250 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 217 rushing yards in four consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Guardian Angels Central Catholic put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Wakefield 54-19 on the road. Fans of the Bluejays have seen this all before: every one of the games they've played this season has ended in a blowout of 20+ points.
Pender pushed their record up to 4-1 with the win, which was their third straight on the road. As for Guardian Angels Central Catholic, their victory bumped their record up to 5-0.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Pender has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 237.6 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Guardian Angels Central Catholic struggles in that department as they've been averaging 298.4. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Pender was able to grind out a solid win over Guardian Angels Central Catholic in their previous matchup back in September of 2023, winning 38-26. Does Pender have another victory up their sleeve, or will Guardian Angels Central Catholic turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
