Football Preview: Plantation Colonels vs. Archbishop McCarthy Mavericks
After each having a week off, the Plantation Colonels and the Archbishop McCarthy Mavericks will dust off their jerseys to face off against one another at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Plantation is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They blew past South Plantation 38-0 two weeks ago. Given the Colonels' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida football rankings (they are ranked 74th, while the Paladins are ranked 406th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Among those leading the charge was Rayshawn Cunningham, who rushed for 75 yards and a touchdown on only eight carries.
Another reason for the win was Plantation's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for five sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Tory Thornton and Ashton Jackson, who racked up four sacks between them. Jackson is becoming a predictor of Plantation's success: when he posts at least two sacks the team is undefeated (and 2-4 when he doesn't).
Plantation was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 305 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Archbishop McCarthy won against Calvary Christian Academy back in October with 31 points and they decided to stick to that point total again two weeks ago. Archbishop McCarthy sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 31-28 victory over King's Academy. That's two games straight that the Mavericks have won by exactly three points.
Kendall Brown had a dynamite game for Archbishop McCarthy, rushing for 80 yards and a touchdown, while also throwing for 168 yards and a touchdown.
Plantation's win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 6-4. Those victories were due in large part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 9.0 points per game. As for Archbishop McCarthy, their victory ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 6-4.
Thursday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Plantation has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 158.4 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Archbishop McCarthy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 203.8. It's looking like Thursday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Plantation strolled past Archbishop McCarthy in their previous matchup back in October by a score of 18-3. Does Plantation have another victory up their sleeve, or will Archbishop McCarthy turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
