For the first time this season, Iona Prep will have a chance to prove themselves in a conference matchup. They will be playing at home against the Cardinal Hayes Cardinals at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. Iona Prep is coming into the game hot, having won their last 13 games dating back to last season.
Iona Prep's defense heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed last Friday. They blew past St. Joseph-by-the-Sea, posting a 34-0 win. Given the Gaels' advantage in MaxPreps' New York football rankings (they are ranked first, while the Vikings are ranked 89th) , the win wasn't entirely unexpected.
Iona Prep's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Crew Davis led the charge by rushing for 116 yards and three touchdowns on only six carries, while also picking up 31 receiving yards. Davis got the majority of those rushing yards when he took off on a run that went for an incredible 66 yards. Julian Guzman was another key signal caller, throwing for 167 yards and one TD while completing 83.3% of his passes.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Iona Prep was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 260 rushing yards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as St. Joseph-by-the-Sea only rushed for 29.
Meanwhile, Saturday just wasn't the day for Cardinal Hayes' offense. They took a blow against St. Joseph Regional two weeks ago, falling 48-0.
Cardinal Hayes' defeat dropped their record down to 1-1. As for Iona Prep, their victory bumped their record up to 3-0.
Iona Prep was able to grind out a solid win over Cardinal Hayes in their previous matchup back in October of 2024, winning 34-27. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was the Cardinals' Rich Belin, who rushed for 25 yards and a pair of scores, and also threw for 138 yards and one touchdown. Now that he won't be playing on Saturday, will it be easier for the Gaels to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
