Soccer Game Preview: Central vs. Opelika

Red Devils

Goals

03/10/25 vs St. Anne-Pacelli	2
03/07/25 vs Calvary Christian	2
03/04/25 @ Benjamin Russell	1
03/01/25 @ Smiths Station	3
03/01/25 vs Buckhorn	1
+ 6 more games

Central hasn't had much luck against Opelika recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Central Red Devils will square off against the Opelika Bulldogs at 7:00 p.m. Central is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 2.5 goals per game this season.

Last Monday, Central didn't have quite enough to beat St. Anne-Pacelli and fell 3-2. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as the Red Devils came into the matchup with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' soccer rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 31st in Alabama, while the Vikings are ranked 150th in Georgia).

Tyelon Davidson wasn't going to let St. Anne-Pacelli walk away unscathed as he scored both of Central's goals, bringing his season total up to 12 goals.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Opelika). They were the clear victor by a 5-1 margin over Russell County on Tuesday. The high-scoring effort was just what the Bulldogs needed considering they were shut out in their previous contest.

Central suffered their first home loss, dropping their record down to 7-3-1. As for Opelika, they moved to 2-8 with that victory, which also ended their six-game losing streak.

Central came out on top in a nail-biter against Opelika when the teams last played back in April of 2024, sneaking past 4-3. The rematch might be a little tougher for Central since the team won't have the home-pitch advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.