Football Preview: Monmouth-Roseville Titans vs. Princeton Tigers
Monmouth-Roseville hasn't had much luck against Princeton recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Monmouth-Roseville Titans will host the Princeton Tigers at 7:00 p.m. Both teams are still undefeated after four-games, but that won't be the case come Friday.
Monmouth-Roseville will head into Friday's contest hoping to keep the good times rolling: they only won by three when they last took the field, which might have inspired the 39-point they dealt Mendota on Friday. Monmouth-Roseville breezed by Mendota on the road to the tune of 49-10. That looming 49-10 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Titans yet this season.
Payton Thompson continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 119 yards and two touchdowns on only six carries. His longest rush was for an impressive 59 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Monmouth-Roseville was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 282 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 182 rushing yards in eight consecutive matchups dating back to last season.
Monmouth-Roseville's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. The picks came courtesy of Andy Myers and Elliott Rogers.
Meanwhile, Princeton took their game on the road on Friday with ease, bagging a 44-14 victory over Kewanee. Given the Tigers' advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois football rankings (they are ranked 81st, while the Boilermakers are ranked 321st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Casey Etheridge, who rushed for 190 yards and four touchdowns. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 121.5 rushing yards per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Ace Christiansen, who rushed for 94 yards on only 13 carries.
Monmouth-Roseville's win was their fifth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 4-0. As for Princeton, their victory bumped their record up to an identical 4-0.
Friday's match might be decided in the on the ground. Monmouth-Roseville has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 360.8 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Princeton struggles in that department as they've been averaging 254.8. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Monmouth-Roseville was dealt a bruising 35-0 defeat at the hands of Princeton in their previous meeting back in November of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Etheridge, who rushed for 226 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 10.3 yards per carry. Now that Monmouth-Roseville knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
