The South Florence Bruins will head out on the road to face off against the Lakewood Gators at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (South Florence has three straight wins, Lakewood has 12 straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
On Friday, everything came up roses for South Florence against Darlington as the squad secured a 57-6 victory. The game was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 43-6.
Messiah Jackson
| 10/03/25 @ Darlington | 3 |
| 09/19/25 vs Crestwood | 2 |
| 09/12/25 @ Fort Dorchester | 2 |
| 09/05/25 vs Northwestern | 2 |
| 08/29/25 @ Summerville | 3 |
South Florence can attribute much of their success to Messiah Jackson, who rushed for 20 yards and three TDs, and Cameron James, who rushed for 98 yards and a pair of scores on only eight carries. Jackson is on a roll when it comes to rushing touchdowns, as he's now punched in two or more in each of the last five games he's played. Gabe McLaughlin helped out on the ground, rushing for 80 yards.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: South Florence was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 205 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 164 rushing yards in four consecutive contests.
On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to South Florence's defense and their three sacks. The team can thank three different players for their defensive prowess: Jewel Washington, Quashawn Byrd, and Dewain Felder, who each picked up one sack apiece. Amare Reaves got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.
Meanwhile, Lakewood fell victim to Darlington and their airtight defense last Friday. They were beaten by the Falcons 43-0.
South Florence's win bumped their record up to 5-1. As for Lakewood, their loss dropped their record down to 0-6.
Thursday's matchup might be decided in the trenches. South Florence has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 195.8 rushing yards per game. It's a different story for Lakewood, though, as they've been averaging only 79.3 rushing yards. How will they fare against such a dominant running game?
Everything came up roses for South Florence against Lakewood in their previous meeting back in October of 2024, as the team secured a 42-12 victory. In that game, the Bruins amassed a halftime lead of 29-6, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Thursday.
