The Commerce Tigers are taking a road trip to square off against the Elbert County Blue Devils at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
Last Friday, Commerce was just a hair shy of victory and fell 29-28 to Athens Academy. The Tigers haven't had much luck with the Spartans recently, as the team's come up short the last three times they've met.
Meanwhile, Elbert County posted their biggest victory since October 27, 2023 on Friday. They blew past Oglethorpe County, posting a 46-13 win on the road. Given the Blue Devils' advantage in MaxPreps' Georgia football rankings (they are ranked 191st, while the Patriots are ranked 407th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Jacari Barnett was a one-man wrecking crew for Elbert County as he rushed for 169 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 9.9 yards per carry. That's the most rushing yards Barnett has posted since back in November of 2023. The team also got some help courtesy of Jayvyn Hickman, who rushed for 101 yards on only seven carries.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Elbert County was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 402 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Commerce now has a losing record at 2-3. As for Elbert County, their record now sits at 2-3.
Everything came up roses for Commerce against Elbert County in their previous matchup back in October of 2023, as the team secured a 49-21 victory. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Barnett, who rushed for 98 yards and a touchdown on only 13 carries. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Commerce still be able to contain Barnett? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
