The Jackson Heights Cobras will square off against the St. Marys Bears at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Jackson Heights had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 34 points), and they went ahead and made it four on Friday. They put the hurt on Mission Valley with a sharp 36-12 win. With Jackson Heights ahead 28-6 at the half, the match was all but over already.
Jackson Heights found their leader in underclassman Drake Mellies, who rushed for 174 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 8.3 yards per carry. Mellies is on a roll when it comes to rushing touchdowns, as he's now punched in two or more in the last seven games he's played. Joshua Smith was another key contributor, gaining 108 total yards and two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, St. Marys entered their tilt with Riverside [Wathena/Elwood] with five consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with six. St. Marys claimed a resounding 62-6 victory over Riverside [Wathena/Elwood] at home.
Jackson Heights' win was their sixth straight at home (dating back to last season), bumping their overall record up to 8-1. That said, the team wasn't facing the toughest opposition over that stretch, as it included 0-9 Maur Hill Prep-Mount Academy and 1-8 Horton (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 25.9% over those games). As for St. Marys, their victory bumped their record up to 6-3.
Jackson Heights took a serious blow against St. Marys in their previous meeting back in October of 2022, falling 46-14. Can Jackson Heights avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
