Two dominant backs in Elijah Kimble and Tyrone Clark Jr. are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Canisius Crusaders will face off against the St. Francis Red Raiders at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Canisius took a loss when they played away from home on November 1st, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Saturday. They blew past St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute 35-14. The score was all tied up 7-7 at the break, but the Crusaders were the (much) better team in the second half.
Canisius didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Xavier Gates-Franklin.
Meanwhile, St. Francis never let their opponents score on Saturday. They claimed a resounding 35-0 victory over Bishop Timon-St. Jude. The Red Raiders haven't had any issues with the Tigers recently, as the game was their ninth consecutive win against them.
Canisius better keep an eye on Trent Buttles. He was instrumental in St. Francis' win, rushing for 41 yards and one touchdown, while also throwing for 113 yards and one TD while completing 92.3% of his passes. The dominant performance also gave Buttles a new career-high in passer rating (140.9).
Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something St. Francis proved: they limited Bishop Timon-St. Jude to a paltry 3.1 yards per carry. The team can thank Larry Hardy iii for the heroic effort on defense: he. St. Francis didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 8.3.
Canisius' record now sits at 6-4. As for St. Francis, their record is now 9-1.
Saturday's contest might be decided on the ground. Canisius has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 273.2 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like St. Francis struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 202.5 rushing yards. There's a good chance Saturday's matchup turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Canisius ended up a good deal behind St. Francis in their previous meeting on November 1st, losing 29-14. Can the Crusaders avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
