The Commerce Tigers will venture away from home to challenge the Elbert County Blue Devils at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
Last Friday, Commerce and Athens Academy were almost perfectly matched up, but Commerce suffered a 29-28 defeat. The Tigers have struggled against the Spartans recently, as their game on Friday was their fourth consecutive lost matchup.
Meanwhile, Elbert County posted their biggest win since October 27, 2023 on Friday. They claimed a resounding 46-13 victory over Oglethorpe County on the road. Given the Blue Devils' advantage in MaxPreps' Georgia football rankings (they are ranked 191st, while the Patriots are ranked 407th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Jacari Barnett had an outrageously good game as he rushed for 169 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 9.9 yards per carry. That's the most rushing yards he has posted since back in November of 2023. Another player making a difference was Jayvyn Hickman, who rushed for 101 yards on only seven carries.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Elbert County was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 402 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Commerce now has a losing record at 2-3. As for Elbert County, their record now sits at 2-3.
Everything came up roses for Commerce against Elbert County in their previous meeting back in October of 2023, as the squad secured a 49-21 win. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Barnett, who rushed for 98 yards and a touchdown on only 13 carries. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Commerce still be able to contain Barnett? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
