Football Game Preview: Johnston Panthers vs. Classical Purple + How To Watch

The Johnston Panthers will head out to challenge the Classical Purple at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Classical will be up against a hot Johnston squad: the team just extended their winning streak to five. The Panthers took their game on Friday with ease, bagging a 43-7 win over Pilgrim. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last five times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.

Stephen O'Brien

Rushing Yards (Career)

10/24/25 vs Pilgrim	67
10/10/25 @ Lincoln	60
11/28/24 @ Scituate	51
10/17/25 vs East Greenwich	49
09/11/25 vs North Providence	43

Stephen O'Brien was nothing short of spectacular: he rushed for 67 yards and one touchdown, and also picked up 47 receiving yards and one TD. Those 67 rushing yards gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Ethan Archambeault, who threw for 109 yards and a pair of TDs on only eight passes.

Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something Johnston proved: they limited Pilgrim to a paltry three yards per carry. The Panthers didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 19.8.

Meanwhile, Classical faced Ponaganset in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Saturday. The Purple put the hurt on the Chieftains with a sharp 35-15 victory. Classical's win was all the more impressive since the Chieftains were averaging only 12.57 points allowed on the season.

The critical scores for Classical came from Coby Tavares, Tahmeed Moshood, Josiah Nyakoon, Silas Mckay, and Bam Adebayo.

Johnston's record is now 7-1. As for Classical, their record now sits at 7-0.

Johnston took a serious blow against Classical when the teams last played back in November of 2024, falling 45-7. Thankfully for the Panthers, Jordan Duke (who rushed for 127 yards and a pair of scores on only eight carries, and also picked up 108 receiving yards and one touchdown) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.