Thomas Dale hasn't had much luck against Manchester recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Thomas Dale Knights will challenge the Manchester Lancers at 7:00 p.m. Thomas Dale's defense has only allowed 14.7 points per game this season, so Manchester's offense will have their work cut out for them.
Thomas Dale took a loss when they played away from home last Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Thursday. They strolled past Petersburg with points to spare, taking the game 21-6.
Aaron Locus was nothing short of spectacular: he rushed for 97 yards and two touchdowns. He is becoming a predictor of Thomas Dale's success: when he posts at least two rushing touchdowns the team is undefeated (and 3-4 when he doesn't).
On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Thomas Dale's defense and their four sacks. Jonah Harris was particularly dangerous to the passing game, picking up two himself. He has been hot recently, having also posted six or more total tackles the last three times he's played. Jamau Noland was another major factor on D, picking up a sack and making 12 total tackles.
Meanwhile, Manchester entered their tilt with Cosby on Friday with three consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with four. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat the Titans 54-10. Considering the Lancers have won four matchups by more than 22 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Manchester can attribute much of their success to Landen Abernethy, who threw for 225 yards and three touchdowns on only 18 passes, and Jakai Moore, who rushed for 103 yards and a touchdown on only 11 carries. The dominant performance also gave Abernethy a new career-high in rushing yards (27). Kenneth Edmonds was in the mix as well, providing Manchester with a touchdown.
Manchester pushed their record up to 7-3 with the win, which was their fifth straight at home. Those good results were due in large part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 9.2 points per game. As for Thomas Dale, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matches, which provided a nice bump to their 6-4 record this season.
Things could have been worse for Thomas Dale, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 40-21 loss to Manchester in their previous matchup back in November of 2023. Can Thomas Dale avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
