Football Game Preview: Tampa Catholic Crusaders vs. Sickles Gryphons

The Tampa Catholic Crusaders will face off against the Sickles Gryphons at 7:35 p.m. on Wednesday. The two teams have allowed few points on average, (Tampa Catholic: 3.2, Sickles: 1.2) so any points scored will be well earned.

Tampa Catholic is probably headed into the matchup with a chip on their shoulder considering Belleview just ended the team's three-game winning streak on Friday. They were just a hair shy of victory and fell 7-6 to the Rattlers. The Crusaders gained 90 more yards on the day, but it was the Rattlers that made the best use of them.

Ava Kopp

Rushing Yards

02/28/25 @ Belleview	58
02/26/25 vs Brandon	37
02/21/25 @ Bayshore Christian	51
02/17/25 @ Seffner Christian	50
04/09/24 vs Jefferson	5
+ 3 more games

Tampa Catholic's loss came about despite a quality game from Ava Kopp, who threw for 182 yards and one touchdown, and also rushed for 58 yards. That's the most rushing yards Kopp has posted since back in March of 2024.

Meanwhile, Sickles put another one in the bag on Monday to keep their perfect season alive. They took down Chamberlain 20-6.

Sickles' victory bumped their record up to 5-0. As for Tampa Catholic, their defeat was their first of the season and makes their record 3-1.

Tampa Catholic was able to grind out a solid win over Sickles in their previous matchup back in February of 2024, winning 18-7. Does Tampa Catholic have another victory up their sleeve, or will Sickles turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.