Football Preview: Buchholz Bobcats vs. Cardinal Newman Crusaders
The Buchholz Bobcats will welcome the Cardinal Newman Crusaders at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Buchholz sitting on three straight wins and Cardinal Newman on seven.
Last Friday, in a tight contest that could have gone either way, Buchholz made off with a 38-37 victory over Bartram Trail. Given the Bobcats' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida football rankings (they are ranked 28th, while the Bears are ranked 98th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Buchholz was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 348 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Cardinal Newman's offense rose to the challenge against a Hustlers defense that boasted an average of only 15 points allowed last Friday. Cardinal Newman took their game with ease, bagging a 43-10 win over Melbourne Central Catholic. Considering the Crusaders have won five matches by more than 20 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
It was another big night for Jaylin ?Jbo? Brown, who rushed for 156 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 9.8 yards per carry, and also picked up 37 receiving yards. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 106 rushing yards per game. Another player making a difference was Jyron Hughley, who threw for 120 yards and a touchdown while completing 81.3% of his passes.
Buchholz's victory bumped their record up to 6-3. As for Cardinal Newman, their win was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 7-0.
The upcoming matchup will be a clash of competing strengths. Buchholz has relied on air attacks this season and has averaged 267.9 passing yards per game. Cardinal Newman, on the other hand, has relied on a stout run game: they average 217 rushing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Thursday? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
