The St. Pius X Panthers are taking a road trip to challenge the Central Catholic Buttons at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
On Friday, St. Pius X came up short against Antonian Prep and fell 35-26. The Panthers haven't had much luck with the Apaches recently, as the team has come up short the last seven times they've met.
Despite the loss, St. Pius X had strong showings from Amir Parks-Brooks, who picked up 130 receiving yards and two touchdowns, and Trey Finney, who picked up 165 receiving yards and one TD.
Meanwhile, Central Catholic made easy work of Long Creek on Friday and carried off a 41-20 victory. The result was nothing new for the Buttons, who have now won three contests by 21 points or more so far this season.
St. Pius X better keep an eye on Joseph Carreon. He was instrumental in Central Catholic's win, rushing for 83 yards and one score, while also picking up 41 receiving yards and one touchdown.
Central Catholic's defense made their presence known, laying out the QB four times. Bradley Jones refused to say out of the backfield, picking up 1.5 sacks all by himself. Zach Mehdi was another major factor on D, picking up a sack and making eight total tackles (2.5 for loss).
The win made it two in a row for Central Catholic and bumps their season record up to 5-3. The victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 36.0 points over those games. As for St. Pius X, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-4.
St. Pius X couldn't quite finish off Central Catholic when the teams last played back in November of 2024 and fell 36-34. Thankfully for the Panthers, Garrett Ticer (who threw for 293 yards and a pair of TDs, and also rushed for 93 yards and one score on only nine carries) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
