The Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy Royals are taking a road trip to take on the Padua Franciscan Bruins at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy has seven straight victories, Padua Franciscan has four straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
If Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy beats Padua Franciscan with 35 points on Friday, it's going to be the squad's new lucky number: they've won their past two games with that exact score. The Royals breezed past Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin to the tune of 35-7 on Friday. The Royals' offense checked out after the first half but had enough points banked to take the game anyway.
Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy can attribute much of their success to Charley Levak, who rushed for 45 yards and one score, and Zac Anderson, who rushed for 70 yards and one touchdown. Anderson showed off some serious burst, turning on the afterburners on one carry for 69 yards.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 370 rushing yards. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their rushing yard total in three consecutive contests.
Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Brayden Harris and Dirk Geiger.
Meanwhile, Padua Franciscan fell victim to Lake Catholic and their airtight defense on Friday. They took a blow against the Cougars, falling 30-0. While losing is never fun, the Bruins can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Ohio football rankings (they are ranked 321st, while the Cougars are ranked 67th).
Padua Franciscan's defeat dropped their record down to 1-7. As for Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy, their win bumped their record up to 7-0.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the trenches. Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 312.4 rushing yards per game. It's a different story for Padua Franciscan, though, as they've been averaging only 60.2 rushing yards. How will they fare against such a dominant running game? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more football content.
