Football Game Preview: Vail Christian Saints vs. Hayden Tigers

Vail Christian is 6-1 against Hayden since September of 2018 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Friday. The Saints will square off against the Tigers at 7:00 p.m. Vail Christian has given up an average of 36.3 points per game this season, but Friday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.

Vail Christian is headed into the contest out to prove that what happened against West Grand on Thursday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. The Saints had to suffer through a 60-20 loss at the hands of the Mustangs. The Saints have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Meanwhile, Hayden entered their tilt with Soroco on Friday with three consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with four. They blew past the Rams 62-0. The result was nothing new for the Tigers, who have now won four games by 42 points or more so far this season.

Hayden's win came from a few key players Vail Christian will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Danek DeMorat, who rushed for 77 yards and two TDs on only five carries. He has been hot recently, having posted two or more rushing touchdowns the last three times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Noah Weber, who rushed for 49 yards and a pair of scores.

Hayden was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 280 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 172 rushing yards in four consecutive matchups.

Hayden's record now sits at 5-2. As for Vail Christian, they now have a losing record of 3-4.

Vail Christian suffered a grim 34-8 defeat to Hayden when the teams last played back in October of 2024. Can the Saints avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.