Cardinal Newman hasn't had much luck against Porter-Gaud recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Cardinal Newman Cardinals will take on the Porter-Gaud Cyclones at 7:30 p.m. That matchup will pit two of the most dominant backs against one another: Caleb Ford and Jammall Fludd.
Cardinal Newman is headed into Friday's contest looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their fourth straight game on Friday. They took a 34-23 hit to the loss column at the hands of Augusta Christian. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as the Cardinals came into the game with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' football rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 180th in South Carolina, while the Lions are ranked 374th in Georgia).
Despite the defeat, Cardinal Newman had strong showings from Jason Horton, who threw for 151 yards and two touchdowns on only 13 passes, and Ford, who rushed for 128 yards. Ford's rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his fifth straight game with at least 115 rushing yards.
Meanwhile, Porter-Gaud waltzed into their match last Friday with three straight wins... but they left with four. They took down the Chargers 28-12.
It was another big night for Fludd, who rushed for 77 yards and a touchdown.
Porter-Gaud didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. Fludd picked up that interception and then proceeded to rub salt in the wound by taking it back the other way for a touchdown.
Cardinal Newman's loss dropped their record down to 2-6. As for Porter-Gaud, their victory bumped their record up to 7-1.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Cardinal Newman has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 245.1 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Porter-Gaud struggles in that department as they've been averaging 361.9. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Cardinal Newman came up short against Porter-Gaud when the teams last played back in October of 2023, falling 49-42. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Fludd, who rushed for 225 yards and four touchdowns. Now that Cardinal Newman knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
