Football Preview: Jefferson Panthers vs. Joliet J Hawks
Jefferson has won four straight games at home, while Joliet has won four straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Saturday. The Jefferson Panthers will host the Joliet J Hawks at 1:00 p.m. Jefferson is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 29.8 points per game this season.
Jefferson will bounce into Saturday's contest after beating Broadwater, who they had gone 2-7 against in their nine prior meetings. Jefferson blew past Broadwater, posting a 31-3 victory. Considering the Panthers have won four games by more than 22 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
It was another big night for Luke Oxarart, who rushed for 218 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 9.1 yards per carry, and also threw for ten yards and a touchdown.
Jefferson was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 329 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Joliet unfortunately witnessed the end of their three-game winning streak on Friday. They fell 22-14 to Huntley Project.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Kaden Juhnke, who rushed for 50 yards, and also threw for 96 yards and a touchdown. That's the most rushing yards he has posted since back in August of 2023. Another player making a difference was Jake Cook, who rushed for 82 yards and a touchdown.
Jefferson is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 7-2 record this season. As for Joliet, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-2.
Saturday's match might be decided in the on the ground. Jefferson has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 223.7 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Joliet struggles in that department as they've been averaging 185.5. It's looking like Saturday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Everything came up roses for Jefferson against Joliet when the teams last played back in September of 2014, as the team secured a 47-7 win. In that game, Jefferson amassed a halftime lead of 44-0, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Saturday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
