Football Preview: Shannon Red Raiders vs. Itawamba Agricultural Indians
Shannon hasn't had much luck against Itawamba Agricultural recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Shannon Red Raiders will welcome the Itawamba Agricultural Indians at 7:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Itawamba Agricultural is hoping to do what Tishomingo County couldn't on Friday: put an end to Shannon's winning streak, which now stands at three games. Shannon blew past Tishomingo County 45-6 on the road. With that victory, the Red Raiders brought their scoring average up to 27.2 points per game.
Kegan Ruff continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 79 yards and three touchdowns. The team also got some help courtesy of Brayden Hooks, who rushed for 63 yards and two touchdowns on only five carries.
Shannon didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Shun Jenkins and Jaiden Dilworth. Jenkins is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made nine or more in the last three games he's played dating back to last season. Donavon Mcguaghy was another major factor on D, forcing a fumble and making eight total tackles (2.0 for loss).
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Shannon was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 222 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 173 rushing yards in three consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Itawamba Agricultural). They really took it to Ripley for the full four quarters, racking up a 52-0 win at home. Given the Indians' advantage in MaxPreps' Mississippi football rankings (they are ranked 44th, while the Tigers are ranked 153rd), the result on Friday wasn't entirely unexpected.
John Austin Wood had an outrageously good game as he threw for 300 yards and three touchdowns while completing 78.9% of his passes. What's more, he also racked up 14 rushing yards, the mosthe's had since back in October of 2023. Another player making a difference was Cayden Prestage, who gained 49 total yards and two touchdowns.
Itawamba Agricultural wouldn't let Ripley keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force three fumbles. It was truly a group effort as Jamarion Gaston, Colton Lewis, and Jacen Edwards picked up one apiece. Gaston also made five total tackles, which is notable because Itawamba Agricultural is undefeated when he posts at least four total tackles, but 1-2 otherwise.
Shannon's victory bumped their record up to 4-2. As for Itawamba Agricultural, the win (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 5-2.
Everything went Shannon's way against Itawamba Agricultural in their previous matchup back in October of 2023, as Shannon made off with a 51-27 victory. Will Shannon repeat their success, or does Itawamba Agricultural have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
