St. Anthony has been on the road for two straight, but on Saturday they'll finally head home. They will square off against the Archbishop Stepinac Crusaders at 4:00 p.m. St. Anthony's knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 31 points or more in their past seven matchups -- so hopefully Archbishop Stepinac likes a good challenge.
St. Anthony's is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of New York's top teams: Cardinal Hayes, who was ranked second in their home state at the time (St. Anthony's was ranked seventh). St. Anthony's walked away with a 42-34 win over Cardinal Hayes on Saturday.
It was another big night for Gary Merrill, who rushed for 188 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 8.2 yards per carry, and also threw for 140 yards and two touchdowns while completing 81.8% of his passes. His rushing production has been exceptional as that marked his eighth straight game with at least 116 rushing yards. Backing up that air attack was Xavier Bala, who rushed for 119 yards and a rushing touchdown.
St. Anthony's was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 307 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 174 rushing yards in nine consecutive matches.
St. Anthony's wouldn't let Cardinal Hayes keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force four fumbles. Anthony Kenner led the group effort, picking up two of those forced fumbles all by himself.
Meanwhile, Archbishop Stepinac came into Sunday's contest having lost ten straight, but that streak is now in the rearview. They came out on top against Moore Catholic by a score of 21-14 on Sunday.
One reason for the win was Archbishop Stepinac's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for six sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Ka'Mauri Guinyard and Adrian Sukalic, who racked up five sacks between them. Guinyard also set a new season high mark in total tackles with 15. Archbishop Stepinac got some further help from Anthony Terilli: he picked up a sack and made 16 total tackles.
St. Anthony's has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven games, which provided a nice bump to their 7-3 record this season. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 37.4 points per game. As for Archbishop Stepinac, their victory (their first of the season) made their record 1-9.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Saturday's matchup: St. Anthony's has been on an offensive roll this season, having averaged 377.9 total yards per game. It's a different story for Archbishop Stepinac, though, as they've been averaging only 219.2. Will St. Anthony's be able to march up the field at their leisure again, or will Archbishop Stepinac flip the script?
Everything came up roses for St. Anthony's against Archbishop Stepinac in their previous matchup back in September, as the squad secured a 35-6 win. Does St. Anthony's have another victory up their sleeve, or will Archbishop Stepinac turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
