Football Game Preview: Bishop O'Connell Knights vs. St. Mary's Ryken Knights

Bishop O'Connell hasn't had much luck against St. Mary's Ryken recently, but that could start to change on Friday. Bishop O'Connell will take on St. Mary's Ryken at 7:00 p.m. Bishop O'Connell has given up an average of 35.5 points per game this season, but Friday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.

Bishop O'Connell's offense might be in the hot seat on Friday considering what happened against Paul VI on Friday. They were beaten by the Panthers 49-0. While losing is never fun, the Knights can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Virginia football rankings (they are ranked 243rd, while the Panthers are ranked 74th).

Meanwhile, St. Mary's Ryken won against Bishop Ireton back in October with 42 points and they decided to stick to that point total again on Friday. The Knights took their game with ease, bagging a 42-7 victory over Archbishop Carroll. With the Knights ahead 35-7 at the half, the matchup was all but over already.

St. Mary's Ryken is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 7-3 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 10.7 points on average over those games. As for Bishop O'Connell, their loss dropped their record down to 2-8.

Bishop O'Connell was dealt a bruising 49-0 defeat at the hands of St. Mary's Ryken in their previous meeting back in October. Can Bishop O'Connell avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.