Football Preview: St. Mary's Pirates vs. Akron Rams
The St. Mary's Pirates are headed away from home for the first time to challenge the Akron Rams at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
St. Mary's is headed out to face Akron after opening their season at home and giving their fans just what they were looking for. St. Mary's walked away with a 26-14 win over Gilpin County on Friday.
The critical scores for St. Mary's came from Lance Mathews, Jack Schuchard, and Wyatt David.
St. Mary's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged three passes before it was all said and done. The picks came courtesy of Mathews and Jackson Beam. Beam also put in work on the defensive side of the ball, forcing a fumble, making 12 total tackles, and defending a pass in addition to snagging an interception which he returned one-yard for a touchdown.
Meanwhile, Akron had to travel to play their first game of the season, but the final result was worth the trip. They never let Calhan onto the board and left with a 40-0 victory on Friday. The score at the end of the third wound up being the final score as the Rams just coasted through the last quarter.
Akron's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Kolten Randel led the charge by throwing for 191 yards and five touchdowns on only 12 passes. Randel didn't just play on offense: he also made a tackle and defended three passes in addition to snagging an interception. Anderson Filla helped Randel out on the ground, rushing for 123 yards and a touchdown on only 14 carries, while also picking up 57 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Filla wasn't the only one working in the rushing yards department: Akron was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 217 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 217 rushing yards in six consecutive contests dating back to last season.
St. Mary's took a serious blow against Akron in their previous matchup back in September of 2023, falling 43-8. That matchup was all but decided by halftime, at which point St. Mary's was down 36-0.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
