Football Preview: Trinity Christian Crusaders vs. Ravenscroft Ravens
Trinity Christian is 7-2 against Ravenscroft since September of 2016, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. After each having a week off, both will dust off their jerseys to square off against one another at 7:00 p.m. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Ravenscroft is hoping to do what Wake Christian Academy couldn't two weeks ago: put an end to Trinity Christian's winning streak, which now stands at four games. Trinity Christian simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Wake Christian Academy 62-0 at home. The Crusaders' defense has been rock solid lately; the team hasn't given up a point in their last three contests.
It was another big night for Elijiah Oehlke, who threw for 248 yards and three touchdowns while completing 73.3% of his passes. A healthy portion of that aerial production (91 yards to be exact) went to Ty Nesbitt.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Trinity Christian was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 225 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in October of 2023.
Trinity Christian's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged four passes before it was all said and done. It was truly a group effort as Dontario Austin, Xayden Watson, Amir Jackson, and Jamar Gillard picked up one apiece. Jackson also set a new season high mark in rushing yards with 127.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Ravenscroft). They enjoyed a cozy 37-21 win over GRACE Christian two weeks ago. The victory was a breath of fresh air for the Ravens as it put an end to their three-game losing streak.
A big part of Ravenscroft's win came down to the chemistry between Elijah Deifer and his top target Bryan Copeland. Deifer threw for 181 yards and two touchdowns on only 11 passes while Copeland picked up 148 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Copeland's longest reception was for an impressive 52 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per catch total.
Trinity Christian's victory was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 4-1. As for Ravenscroft, their win bumped their record up to 2-4.
Friday's game might be decided in the trenches. Trinity Christian has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 148.2 rushing yards per game. It's a different story for Ravenscroft, though, as they've been averaging only 96.2. How will they fare against such a dominant running game?
Everything came up roses for Trinity Christian against Ravenscroft in their previous meeting back in October of 2023, as the team secured a 58-12 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Trinity Christian since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
