Football Game Preview: Rock Academy Warriors vs. Maranatha Christian Eagles

Rock Academy is on a three-game streak of home wins, while Maranatha Christian is on a three-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Warriors will host the Eagles at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.

On Friday, Rock Academy came up short against Mountain Empire and fell 30-22.

The match pitted two dominant backs against one another in Zayden Campbell and Elisha Lashone Robinson. Lashone Robinson had a great game and rushed for 138 yards and one touchdown while picking up 8.6 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Campbell was balling out in the loss, rushing for 136 yards and a pair of TDs, while also picking up 32 receiving yards.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Maranatha Christian). They blew past O'Farrell Charter, posting a 62-0 win. The Eagles might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won six games by 22 points or more this season.

Maranatha Christian's win came from a few key players Rock Academy will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Shane Piester, who threw for 162 yards and four touchdowns on perfect 9-for-9 passing. What's more, he posted three receiving yards, the most he's had since back in August. Another player making a difference was Hudson Heinrichs, who picked up 85 receiving yards and a pair of scores.

On the defensive side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Maranatha Christian's defense and their 7.5 sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Holton Heinrichs and Nathan Niguidula, who racked up four sacks between them. Maranatha Christian got some further help from Aaron Tasin: he picked up 1.5 sacks and made seven total tackles (2.0 for loss) in addition to snagging an interception.

Maranatha Christian's victory bumped their record up to 8-1. As for Rock Academy, they now have a losing record of 4-5.

Rock Academy was dealt a bruising 37-0 defeat at the hands of Maranatha Christian in their previous meeting back in October of 2024. Can the Warriors avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.