The Grainger Grizzlies will challenge the Volunteer Falcons at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Grainger will be strutting in after a win while Volunteer will be coming in after a loss.
Grainger will roll into the match after a wild two-game stretch: they didn't score any points on October 10th, then bounced right back against Cosby on Friday. Grainger took down Cosby 35-19. The victory was some much needed relief for the Grizzlies as it spelled an end to their three-game losing streak.
Meanwhile, Volunteer was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their fourth straight defeat. They lost to Cherokee at home by a 42-23 margin. While losing is never fun, the Falcons can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Tennessee football rankings (they are ranked 301st, while the Chiefs are ranked 149th).
Despite the loss, Volunteer got top-tier performance from Keelin Releford, who rushed for 174 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 8.3 yards per carry, and also threw for 132 yards and a touchdown. With that strong performance, Releford is now averaging an impressive 104.9 rushing yards per game.
Even though they lost, Volunteer was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 215 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in August.
Grainger's win bumped their record up to 4-5. As for Volunteer, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-8-1.
Grainger strolled past Volunteer in their previous matchup back in October of 2023 by a score of 33-14. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Releford, who rushed for 178 yards and a touchdown. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Grainger still be able to contain Releford? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
