Oak Glen hasn't had much luck against Catholic Central recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Golden Bears will look to defend their home field against the Crusaders at 7:00 p.m. Oak Glen's defense has only allowed 11.6 points per game this season, so Catholic Central's offense will have their work cut out for them.
Oak Glen's defense heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They strolled past Buckeye Local with points to spare, taking the game 17-0. The Golden Bears haven't had any issues with the Panthers recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive win against them.
This one was won in the trenches and the lion's share of the credit has to go to Logan Murray and Jacob Everett. Murray rushed for 178 yards and one score while picking up 11.1 yards per carry while Everett rushed for 170 yards.
Oak Glen was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 383 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Catholic Central never got on the board in their matchup last Saturday, but that sure wasn't the case in their game against Belpre on Saturday. They blew past the Golden Eagles, posting a 51-18 victory. The contest marked the Crusaders' most dominant win of the season.
Oak Glen better keep an eye on Matthew Sprochi. He was instrumental in Catholic Central's win, rushing for 67 yards and a pair of touchdowns on only eight carries, while also throwing for 115 yards and two TDs on perfect 5-for-5 passing. The dominant performance also gave Sprochi a new career-high in passer rating (177.1).
Catholic Central's victory bumped their record up to 4-2. As for Oak Glen, their win bumped their record up to 4-1.
Friday's game might be decided on the ground. Oak Glen has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 243.2 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Catholic Central struggles in that department as they've been averaging 190 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's matchup turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Oak Glen took a serious blow against Catholic Central when the teams last played back in October of 2024, falling 35-7. That contest was all but decided by halftime, at which point the Golden Bears were down 28-0.
