Two dominant backs in Terris Smith and King Gardner are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Ezell-Harding Christian Eagles will square off against the Donelson Christian Academy Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Neither of those teams managed to put together many points in their previous contests, so the offenses might be a little more motivated than usual.
Fans were treated to a battle of the Eagles on Friday. Ezell-Harding Christian had to suffer through a 65-12 loss at the hands of Nashville Christian. While losing is never fun, Ezell-Harding Christian can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Tennessee football rankings (they are ranked 159th, while Nashville Christian is ranked fifth).
Despite the loss, Ezell-Harding Christian had strong showings from Julian Murdic, who threw for 175 yards and two touchdowns on only 11 passes, and Kristian Jones, who picked up 96 receiving yards and one score. Jones' longest reception was for an impressive 52 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per catch total.
Meanwhile, Donelson Christian Academy played a tough matchup on Friday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They took a blow against Trinity Christian Academy, falling 42-7. The Wildcats were already down big by the end of the third quarter and they stayed that way after failing to score in the fourth.
Donelson Christian Academy's defeat dropped their record down to 5-4. As for Ezell-Harding Christian, their loss dropped their record down to an identical 5-4.
Friday's contest might be decided on the ground. Ezell-Harding Christian has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 192.3 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Donelson Christian Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 185.4 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's game turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Ezell-Harding Christian took a serious blow against Donelson Christian Academy in their previous matchup back in August of 2024, falling 56-6. Thankfully for the Eagles, Mitchell Carey (who threw for 227 yards and four TDs on only 14 passes, and also rushed for 50 yards and one score) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
