The Monsignor Pace Spartans will head out on the road to face off against the Norland Vikings at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
With a playoff game on the line, Monsignor Pace rose to the challenge on Friday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Gulliver Prep 41-14 on the road. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Monsignor Pace.
Meanwhile, Norland put another one in the bag on Thursday to keep their perfect season alive. They didn't even let St. Brendan onto the board and left with a 55-0 victory. Given Norland's advantage in MaxPreps' Florida football rankings (they are ranked sixth, while St. Brendan is ranked 243rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Norland's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Juan Rodriguez led the charge by rushing for 81 yards and two touchdowns. Rodriguez was no stranger to the big play, taking off on a dash that went for 62 yards. Ennio Yapoor also helped out by tossing the rock for 309 yards.
Monsignor Pace has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six games, which provided a nice bump to their 7-4 record this season. As for Norland, their win was their tenth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 11-0.
Monsignor Pace was taken down by Norland 42-7 in their previous meeting back in September. Can Monsignor Pace avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
