Preview: East Nashville Magnet Eagles vs. Stratford Spartans
The East Nashville Magnet Eagles will stay at home for another week and welcome the Stratford Spartans at 7:00 p.m. on November 10th. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both teams will really light up the scoreboard on Friday.
It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but East Nashville Magnet had no problem doing just that on Friday. They breezed by Cheatham County Central at home to the tune of 40-0. East Nashville Magnet might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team's won eight matchups by 21 points or more this season.
East Nashville Magnet found their leader in underclassman Keith Johnson, who rushed for 202 yards and a touchdown on only 12 carries. Kelan Anderson was another key contributor, rushing for 45 yards and two touchdowns.
The team's defense also helped out by holding Cheatham County Central to a paltry 232 yards. A big part of that defensive dominance came down to East Nashville Magnet's ability to keep the quarterback under pressure: the team laid him out five times before it was all said and done. Anderson was especially locked on to Cheatham County Central's QB and sacked him twice.
Meanwhile, Stratford strolled past White House-Heritage with points to spare on Friday, taking the game 58-42. The win was just what Stratford needed coming off of a 35-0 loss in their prior match.
Stratford's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Justyce Law, who rushed for 157 yards on only 15 carries, and also threw for 175 yards and three touchdowns. Another player making a difference was Alterion Frazier, who rushed for 187 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 8.1 yards per carry.
East Nashville Magnet's victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 9-2. That said, the team wasn't facing the toughest opposition over that stretch, as it included 0-10 RePublic and 2-8 Overton (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 25.5% over those games). As for Stratford, they now have a winning record of 6-5.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's match: East Nashville Magnet has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 224.8 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Stratford struggles in that department as they've been averaging 182.1 per game. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other football content.
Everything came up roses for East Nashville Magnet against Stratford when the teams last played two weeks ago as the team secured a 35-0 win. Will East Nashville Magnet repeat their success, or does Stratford have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
