After each having a week off, the King's Ridge Christian Tigers and the Mount Vernon Mustangs will shake off the rust and duke it out at 3:45 p.m. on Friday.
King's Ridge Christian is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to 44 points on October 3rd, they were much more limited against Wesleyan last Friday. They were outmatched by the Wolves and fell 49-7. The Tigers were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 35-0.
Despite the loss, King's Ridge Christian saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Tucker Markakis rushed for 58 yards and one score.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Mount Vernon). They took their game last Friday with ease, bagging a 60-20 win over Greenville. The Mustangs might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won three contests by 40 points or more this season.
King's Ridge Christian better keep an eye on Keon Clealand. He was instrumental in Mount Vernon's win, rushing for 183 yards and three TDs on only 13 carries, while also throwing for 177 yards and three touchdowns while completing 75% of his passes. Clealand's longest rush was for an impressive 60 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total. Taurean Rawlins was in the mix as well, providing Mount Vernon with two scores.
Mount Vernon was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 372 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since the start of last season.
Mount Vernon's defense made their presence known, laying out Zayden Kelley four times. Leading the way was Coleson Quesinberry with two sacks. Mount Vernon got some further help from Ethan Siggers: he picked up a sack and made 11 total tackles.
King's Ridge Christian's defeat dropped their record down to 6-2. As for Mount Vernon, their record now sits at 3-5.
Friday's matchup might be decided on the ground. King's Ridge Christian has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 235.6 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Mount Vernon struggles in that department as they've been averaging 163 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's game turns into a tough fight on the ground.
King's Ridge Christian ended up a good deal behind Mount Vernon when the teams last played back in October of 2024, losing 38-21. Thankfully for the Tigers, Bristan Derocher (who rushed for 101 yards and a pair of TDs on only seven carries, and also threw for 169 yards and a pair of touchdowns while completing 78.9% of his passes) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
