St. Peter's has enjoyed the comforts of home their last two games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will challenge the St. John the Baptist Cougars at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. The pair are strolling into their contests after big wins in their previous games.
St. Peter's had already proven themselves in the regular season, and didn't miss a beat now that it's playoff time. They blew past Fordham Prep 40-20. The result was nothing new for St. Peter's, who have now won five contests by 20 points or more so far this season.
St. Peter's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Marco Aruta, who rushed for 151 yards and two touchdowns on only 14 carries, and Jeremiah Williams, who rushed for 166 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 9.8 yards per carry. Williams was no stranger to the big play, turning on the jets for a run that went for 68 yards. Nick Scolaro made the highlight reel by snagging an interception and taking it all the way to the house.
Meanwhile, St. John the Baptist can now show off three landslide victories after their most recent matchup on Saturday. They put the hurt on Christ the King with a sharp 35-12 win. Given St. John the Baptist's advantage in MaxPreps' New York football rankings (they are ranked 69th, while Christ the King is ranked 341st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Maxwell Bowers looked great while leading his team to the win, throwing for 130 yards and two touchdowns while completing 81.8% of his passes.
St. Peter's pushed their record up to 8-2 with that win, which was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season. That said, the team wasn't facing the toughest opposition over that stretch, as it included 0-10 Morris Catholic and 3-7 Kennedy Catholic (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 37% over those games). As for St. John the Baptist, they now have a winning record of 5-4.
St. Peter's didn't have too much breathing room in their matchup against St. John the Baptist when the teams last played back in September, but they still walked away with a 19-14 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for St. Peter's since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
