Football Preview: Minerva Lions vs. West Branch Warriors
Minerva hasn't had much luck against West Branch recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Minerva Lions are taking a road trip to challenge the West Branch Warriors at 7:00 p.m. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Having struggled with 14 losses in a row dating back to last season, Minerva finally turned things around against Aquinas on Friday. They walked away with a 16-7 victory over the Knights. The Lions' offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.
Meanwhile, West Branch put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They blew past Howland, posting a 48-13 win on the road. Given the Warriors' advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio football rankings (they are ranked 67th, while the Tigers are ranked 407th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Jeremiah Thomas continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 243 yards and a touchdown on only 14 carries, while also throwing for 205 yards and five touchdowns. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in rushing yards. Anthony Perry was Thomas' top target, picking up 147 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, West Branch was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 329 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Minerva's victory ended a seven-game drought at home dating back to last season and bumped them up to 1-4. As for West Branch, their record is now 5-0.
Minerva took a serious blow against West Branch when the teams last played back in September of 2023, falling 70-0. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Thomas, who rushed for 75 yards and a touchdown, and also picked up 58 receiving yards and a touchdown. Now that Minerva knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
