Two dominant signal callers in Hawkins Flanagan and James Maes are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Dayspring Christian Academy Eagles will look to defend their home field on Saturday against the Byers Bulldogs at 1:00 p.m.
Dayspring Christian Academy is headed into Saturday's matchup hungry for a win as their strong season has now been derailed by two straight losses. They came up short against Haxtun last Saturday, falling 30-6. The contest marked the Eagles' lowest-scoring game so far this season.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Byers). They really took it to St. Mary's for the full four quarters, racking up a 56-14 victory. The Bulldogs might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won six matchups by 32 points or more this season.
Byers' win came from a few key players Dayspring Christian Academy will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Benjamin McPherson, who picked up 92 receiving yards and three touchdowns, and also rushed for 96 yards on only five carries. His longest reception was for an impressive 65 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per catch total. Caleb Eastwood was in the mix too, providing Byers with two TDs.
Byers was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 234 rushing yards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as St. Mary's only rushed for 109.
Byers didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as McPherson, George Wyatt Earl, and Millio Guerue picked up one apiece.
Byers is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six games. That's provided a nice bump to their 7-2 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 48.3 points over those games. As for Dayspring Christian Academy, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-3.
Saturday's contest might be decided on the ground. Dayspring Christian Academy has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 228.1 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Byers struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 203.6 rushing yards. There's a good chance Saturday's matchup turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Dayspring Christian Academy suffered a grim 58-36 defeat to Byers in their previous matchup back in September of 2023. That game was all but decided by halftime, at which point the Eagles were down 44-14.
