Football Preview: Elgin/Pope John Wolfpack vs. St. Mary's Cardinals
The Elgin/Pope John Wolfpack will square off against the St. Mary's Cardinals at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Given that both suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.
St. Mary's is facing Elgin/Pope John at the wrong time: Elgin/Pope John suffered their first home loss of the season on Friday and they're likely out for redemption. They had to suffer through a 68-20 loss at the hands of the Bulldogs. The Wolfpack were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 46-14.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Grady Drueke, who rushed for 97 yards and a touchdown. He was no stranger to the big play, turning on the jets for a run that went for 53 yards.
Meanwhile, St. Mary's scored the most points they've had all season on Friday, but it wasn't enough. They fell just short of Ainsworth by a score of 70-68. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game last Friday (52), the Cardinals still had to take the loss.
Despite the defeat, St. Mary's got top-tier performance from Gage Hedstrom, who rushed for 144 yards and three touchdowns, and also threw for 268 yards and four touchdowns. Hedstrom's rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his third straight game with at least 119 rushing yards dating back to last season. Another player making a difference was Ben Barlow, who picked up 126 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
The loss snapped Elgin/Pope John's winning streak at three games and leaves them with a 3-2 record. As for St. Mary's, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 2-3.
Everything came up roses for Elgin/Pope John against St. Mary's in their previous meeting back in October of 2023, as the team secured a 50-0 victory. Will Elgin/Pope John repeat their success, or does St. Mary's have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
