The Englewood Pirates will venture away from home to face off against the Elizabeth Cardinals at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Englewood's defense has only allowed 13.7 points per game this season, so Elizabeth's offense will have their work cut out for them.
Englewood's offense might be in the hot seat on Friday considering what happened against Strasburg on Friday. They had to suffer through a 35-0 loss at the hands of the Indians. The defensive woes were uncharacteristic for the Pirates, who until this matchup were averaging 13.71 points allowed.
Even if they lost, Englewood's defensive line still kept up the pressure with three sacks. In fact, those sacks all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Logan Mael.
Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Elizabeth took on Bennett last Friday. Elizabeth simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Bennett 49-0 at home. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Cardinals.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Elizabeth was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 223 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 174 rushing yards in five consecutive games.
Englewood's loss dropped their record down to 4-3. As for Elizabeth, they pushed their record up to 5-2 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season.
Friday's match might be decided in the on the ground. Englewood has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 185.6 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Elizabeth struggles in that department as they've been averaging 179.9. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Englewood took a serious blow against Elizabeth in their previous matchup back in September of 2023, falling 49-6. Thankfully for Englewood, Cash Randle (who rushed for 156 yards and two touchdowns, and also caught a touchdown) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
