Stephenson has been on the road for two straight, but on Friday they'll finally head home. A feisty cat fight will be fought when Jaguars challenges the Luella Lions at 7:30 p.m. After both made easy work of their previous opponents, one won't be so lucky on Friday.
Last Friday, Stephenson was fully in charge, breezing past Riverdale 45-6 on the road. The Jaguars might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four games by 21 points or more this season.
Stephenson can attribute much of their success to Jayden Johnson, who rushed for 102 yards and two touchdowns on only ten carries, and Marte Barton, who rushed for 52 yards and a touchdown. Johnson is becoming a predictor of Stephenson's success: when he posts at least two rushing touchdowns the team is 4-1 (and 1-2 when he doesn't). The team also got some help courtesy of Dennis Brooks, who rushed for 67 yards and a touchdown.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Stephenson was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 315 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 301 rushing yards in three consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, everything went Luella's way against Mt. Zion on Friday as Luella made off with a 27-6 victory.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Luella to victory, but perhaps none more so than Dayshon Furlow, who rushed for 83 yards and a touchdown on only five carries. The dominant performance gave Furlow a new career-high in rushing yards.
Luella didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. Elijah Miller picked up that interception and then proceeded to rub salt in the wound by taking it back the other way for a touchdown.
Stephenson's win bumped their record up to 5-3. As for Luella, the victory got them back to even at 4-4.
Friday's contest might be decided in the on the ground. Stephenson has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 228.8 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Luella struggles in that department as they've been averaging 158.8. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Everything came up roses for Stephenson against Luella when the teams last played back in November of 2023, as the team secured a 35-7 win. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Luella's R.L. Ward Iii, who rushed for 109 yards and a touchdown. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Stephenson still be able to contain Ward Iii? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
