Football Game Preview: St. Mary's Academy Crusaders vs. Pembroke Hill Raiders

The St. Mary's Academy Crusaders will venture away from home to challenge the Pembroke Hill Raiders at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. St. Mary's Academy's defense has only allowed nine points per game this season, so Pembroke Hill's offense will have their work cut out for them.

St. Mary's Academy will roll into the game after a wild two-game stretch: they only put up six points last Saturday, then bounced right back against Northeast on Saturday. The Crusaders claimed a resounding 49-0 victory over the Vikings. The result was nothing new for the Crusaders, who have now won three matchups by 35 points or more so far this season.

Thomas Schmitt was nothing short of spectacular: he rushed for 121 yards and one score on only eight carries. His longest rush was for an incredible 79 yards. The team also got some help courtesy of Andrew Moats, who rushed for 69 yards and one TD on only nine carries.

They were just one part of a punishing run game: St. Mary's Academy was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 327 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since the start of last season.

Meanwhile, Pembroke Hill beat Hogan Prep Charter 25-12 on Friday. The Raiders haven't had any issues with the Rams recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive win against them.

The victory got Pembroke Hill back to even at 3-3. As for St. Mary's Academy, their record is now 4-2.

St. Mary's Academy was taken down by Pembroke Hill 65-20 when the teams last played back in October of 2024. Can the Crusaders avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.