The Chicago Hope Academy will be playing at home against the St. Bede Bruins at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Chicago Hope Academy will be hoping to continue their four-game streak of scoring more points each contest than the last.
Chicago Hope Academy put the finishing touches on their fourth blowout victory of the season on Friday. They blew past Christ the King, posting a 63-0 victory on the road. Given Chicago Hope Academy's advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois football rankings (they are ranked 79th, while Christ the King is ranked 379th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Chicago Hope Academy's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Jamari West, who picked up 63 receiving yards and two touchdowns, and also punched in a touchdown on the ground. The team also got some help courtesy of Jamarkus Lofton, who rushed for 68 yards and two touchdowns on only nine carries.
Meanwhile, St. Bede pushed their score all the way to 35 on Friday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They took a serious blow against Seneca, falling 79-35. St. Bede was in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 42-21.
Loss or not, St. Bede got some senior leadership from Max Bray who threw for 346 yards and five touchdowns and Alex Ankiewicz who picked up 160 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
Chicago Hope Academy's win was their sixth straight on the road, which bumped their overall record up to 8-1. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 39.3 points per game. As for St. Bede, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 5-4.
Saturday's game might be decided on the ground as these two are both standouts in the run game. Chicago Hope Academy has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 191 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like St. Bede struggles in that department as they've been averaging 181.8 per game. It's looking like Saturday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Chicago Hope Academy came up short against St. Bede when the teams last played back in October of 2021, falling 30-19. Thankfully for Chicago Hope Academy, John Brady (who rushed for 138 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 8.6 yards per carry) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
