The St. Michael Catholic Cardinals will face off against the UMS-Wright Prep Bulldogs at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
UMS-Wright Prep will take on a team with plenty of momentum: St. Michael Catholic extended their winning streak to nine on Friday. The Cardinals blew past Orange Beach 49-7. With the Cardinals ahead 42-0 at the half, the contest was all but over already.
Gunner Rivers
| 10/24/25 @ Orange Beach | 167.8 |
| 10/16/25 vs Pensacola | 155.2 |
| 10/10/25 vs Mobile Christian | 119 |
| 10/03/25 @ Jackson | 131.8 |
| 09/19/25 @ Escambia County | 130.6 |
| + 12 more games |
St. Michael Catholic's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Noah Moss, who rushed for 175 yards and a pair of TDs on only 15 carries, and Gunner Rivers, who threw for 271 yards and four touchdowns while completing 88.9% of his passes. What's more, Rivers racked up 167.8 passer rating, the most he's had since back in October of 2024. Tucker Tomlinson was another key player, picking up 105 receiving yards and one score.
St. Michael Catholic didn't let much get past them through the air: they limited Orange Beach to a completion percentage of just 33.3%. That dominant aerial defense primarily came from two players: Bryce Marston and Brayden Smith, who each logged one passes deflected. That defensive display was nothing new: St. Michael Catholic has limited their opponent to a lower and lower completion percentage in three consecutive matchups.
St. Michael Catholic's defense didn't let the opposing QB, get away unscathed either: they got into the backfield for three sacks. Cam Kerbal was especially locked on to Orange Beach's QB and sacked him twice. Kerbal also set a new season-high mark in total tackles with 11.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask UMS-Wright Prep). They took their game on Friday with ease, bagging a 51-6 win over Faith Academy. The Bulldogs pushed the score to 44-6 by the end of the third, a deficit the Rams had no chance of recovering from.
St. Michael Catholic better focus on containing Max Fowler and Richard Scott as the pair were huge in UMS-Wright Prep's win. Fowler threw for 179 yards and three touchdowns on only nine passes, while Scott picked up 99 receiving yards and one TD. Fowler's passing game has become a key predictor of UMS-Wright Prep's success: the team is undefeated when his passer rating is 110 or higher, but only 2-3 otherwise. Perry Hand got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.
UMS-Wright Prep's victory bumped their record up to 6-3. As for St. Michael Catholic, their win bumped their record up to 9-0.
St. Michael Catholic was able to grind out a solid victory over UMS-Wright Prep in their previous matchup back in November of 2024, winning 35-28. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Hand, who rushed for 67 yards and one score on only eight carries, and also caught one TD. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will the Cardinals still be able to contain Hand? There's only one way to find out.
