Football Game Preview: Rockledge Raiders vs. Mandarin Mustangs

Rockledge is on a four-game streak of home wins (dating back to last season), while Mandarin is on a five-game streak of away wins (also dating back to last season): one of those streaks is about to end. The Raiders will host the Mustangs at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.

Rockledge's defense heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They claimed a resounding 42-0 win over Deltona. Given the Raiders' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida football rankings (they are ranked 104th, while the Wolves are ranked 279th) , the win wasn't entirely unexpected.

Rockledge relied on the efforts of Robbie Blalock, who threw for 215 yards and two TDs on only 19 passes, and Camden Allen, who rushed for 70 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Meanwhile, after only seven points in their last game, Mandarin made sure to put some points up on the board against First Coast on Friday. The Mustangs were the clear victors by a 34-13 margin over the Buccaneers. The Mustangs might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four matchups by 21 points or more this season.

A big part of Mandarin's victory came down to the chemistry between Knox Annis and his top target Tian Wyche. Annis threw for 234 yards and four touchdowns while completing 72.7% of his passes while Wyche picked up 117 receiving yards and three scores. Those 117 receiving yards gave Wyche a new career-high.

Rockledge's win bumped their record up to 2-3. As for Mandarin, their victory bumped their record up to 5-1.

Rockledge ended up a good deal behind Mandarin in their previous matchup back in October of 2024, losing 24-7. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of the Mustangs' Shaunqueze Foster, who rushed for 216 yards and a pair of TDs while picking up 13.5 yards per carry. Now that the Raiders know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.