The Pensacola Tigers will venture away from home to challenge the St. Michael Catholic Cardinals at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Pensacola has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the matchup with three straight losses, while St. Michael Catholic will come in with seven straight wins.
On Friday, Pensacola was beaten by Escambia 46-6. While losing is never fun, the Tigers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida football rankings (they are ranked 346th, while the Gators are ranked 170th).
Pensacola's defeat came about despite a quality game from Courtney George, who rushed for 106 yards and one score.
Meanwhile, St. Michael Catholic was able to grind out a solid victory over Mobile Christian on Friday, taking the game 46-37.
Pensacola better keep an eye on Noah Moss. He was instrumental in St. Michael Catholic's win, rushing for 279 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 10.7 yards per carry, and also picking up 38 receiving yards. Moss is crushing it when it comes to rushing yards: he's rushed for at least 107 every time he's taken the field this season. Another player making a difference was Brody Jones, who picked up 120 receiving yards and three TDs.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: St. Michael Catholic was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 334 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since the start of last season.
St. Michael Catholic's record now sits at 7-0. As for Pensacola, their loss dropped their record down to 1-6.
Thursday's contest might be decided on the ground. Pensacola has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 166.1 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like St. Michael Catholic struggles in that department as they've been averaging 209.6 rushing yards. There's a good chance Thursday's game turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Pensacola and St. Michael Catholic were almost perfectly matched up in their previous meeting back in October of 2024, but Pensacola suffered an agonizing 38-37 defeat. Can the Tigers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
