Football Preview: St. Bernard's Crusaders vs. Ferndale Wildcats
St. Bernard has won six straight games at home (dating back to last season), while Ferndale has won six straight on the road also dating back to last season, but those streaks won't matter much on Saturday. The St. Bernard's Crusaders will welcome the Ferndale Wildcats at 2:00 p.m. Hopefully St. Bernard's focused on turnovers this week as the team gave up four on Friday.
Last Friday, St. Bernard's took their matchup on the road with ease, bagging a 45-13 victory over Clear Lake. Given the Crusaders' advantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 317th, while the Cardinals are ranked 747th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead St. Bernard's to victory, but perhaps none more so than Tyler Hinrichs, who picked up 84 receiving yards and a touchdown, and also punched in two touchdowns on the ground. Hinrichs showed off some serious burst, connecting on a big catch for 64 yards. Another receiver making a difference was Michael Manzi, who picked up 138 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Ferndale hadn't done well against Fortuna recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Saturday. Ferndale came out on top in a nail-biter against Fortuna , sneaking past 29-26.
Ferndale was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 209 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 187 rushing yards in nine consecutive contests dating back to last season.
St. Bernard's win bumped their record up to 4-0. As for Ferndale, their victory bumped their record up to 3-0.
Saturday's match might be decided in the on the ground. St. Bernard's has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 164.5 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Ferndale struggles in that department as they've been averaging 322.7. It's looking like Saturday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
St. Bernard's came up short against Ferndale in their previous matchup back in March of 2021, falling 12-0. Can St. Bernard's avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
