Preview: Choctawhatchee Indians vs. St. Augustine Yellow Jackets
Two dominant backs in Cole Tabb and Devonte Lyons are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Choctawhatchee Indians will head out on the road to face off against the St. Augustine Yellow Jackets at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Choctawhatchee sitting on seven straight wins and St. Augustine on 11.
Two teams were on the hunt for playoff glory, but only Choctawhatchee walked away with it. They breezed by the Trojans on the road to the tune of 38-7. Choctawhatchee might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team's won nine games by 20 points or more this season.
Tabb continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 192 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 9.1 yards per carry. Tabb has been hot recently, having posted 100 or more rushing yards the last four times he's played. Isaiah Johnson and his 119 yards on the ground were also a key factor in Choctawhatchee's victory.
Another reason for the win was Choctawhatchee's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for nine sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Tristan Jackson and Ellis Alloway who racked up six sacks between them.
Meanwhile, St. Augustine's offense rose to the challenge against a Gators defense that boasted an average of only 13.5 points allowed. St. Augustine took down Escambia 31-14 on Friday. Given St. Augustine's advantage in MaxPreps' Florida football rankings (they are ranked 17th, while Escambia is ranked 78th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Lyons, who rushed for 112 yards and four touchdowns. Lyons hasn't dropped below two rushing touchdowns for six straight games.
Choctawhatchee's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 10-2. They've been dominating during the contests in that stretch too, as they've won by an average of 38 points. As for St. Augustine, their victory bumped their record up to 11-0.
Friday's match might be decided on the ground as these two are both standouts in the run game. Choctawhatchee has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 198 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like St. Augustine struggles in that department as they've been averaging 170 per game. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Choctawhatchee was able to grind out a solid win over St. Augustine in their previous meeting back in November of 2022, winning 42-35. Will Choctawhatchee repeat their success, or does St. Augustine have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
