Football Preview: Aquinas Monarchs vs. Battle Creek Braves
The Aquinas Monarchs will be defending their home-field for the first timethey go up against the Battle Creek Braves on Friday.
Aquinas is headed into their home opener looking to turn things around after opening their season on the road. They took a 14-7 hit to the loss column at the hands of Scotus on Friday. The Monarchs' defeat continues a trend for the team, making it four in a row dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Battle Creek took care of business in their home opener on Friday (and then some). They blew past Cross County, posting a 41-0 win at home. Given the Braves' advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska football rankings (they are ranked 36th, while the Cougars are ranked 130th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Wyatt Nierodzik had an outrageously good game as he rushed for 141 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 8.3 yards per carry. He also put in work on the defensive side of the ball, picking up a sack and making four total tackles. Conner Neuhalfen was in the mix as well, providing Battle Creek with a fumble recovery touchdown touchdowns.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Battle Creek was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 257 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 164 rushing yards in 11 consecutive contests dating back to last season.
On the defensive side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Battle Creek's defense and their five sacks. Cross County's QB won't forget Dawson Amick anytime soon given he sacked him twice. Amick's also deserves a shoutout for his performance on D, picking up two sacks and making four total tackles.
Aquinas was able to grind out a solid victory over Battle Creek in their previous meeting back in November of 2014, winning 31-20. Does Aquinas have another victory up their sleeve, or will Battle Creek turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
