The Lovejoy Leopards are taking a road trip to square off against the Melissa Cardinals at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Lovejoy has given up an average of 29 points per game this season, but Friday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Lovejoy is headed into the contest out to prove that what happened against Anna last Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. The Leopards had to suffer through a 45-14 loss at the hands of the Coyotes. The Leopards were already down big by the end of the third quarter and they stayed that way after failing to score in the fourth.
Lovejoy might have lost, but man, Jacob Janecek was a machine: he threw for 166 yards and two TDs, and also rushed for 79 yards on only ten carries.
Meanwhile, Melissa entered their tilt with Anna on Friday with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. They came within six points of losing the streak, but they secured a 40-34 W against the Coyotes. The score was all tied up 21-21 at the break, but the Cardinals were the better team in the second half.
Melissa's win bumped their record up to 3-1. As for Lovejoy, their loss dropped their record down to 2-2.
Lovejoy came out on top in a nail-biter against Melissa in their previous matchup back in October of 2024, sneaking past 41-38. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Leopards since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
