The Florence Christian Eagles will face off against the Pinewood Prep Panthers at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Each of these teams will be battling to keep a three-game winning streak alive.
Florence Christian is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They strolled past John Paul II with points to spare, taking the game 28-12. The Eagles pushed the score to 28-0 by the end of the third, a deficit the Golden Warrriors cut but never quite recovered from.
The match pitted two dominant backs against one another in Andrew Miller and Jadon Inabinett. Miller had a great game and rushed for 184 yards and a pair of touchdowns while picking up 7.1 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Inabinett did his best for the losing side, rushing for 69 yards and one TD.
Florence Christian didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The team can thank two different players for their defensive prowess: Brayden Berry and Brooks Poston, who each picked up one interception apiece. Florence Christian got some further help from Hayden Schwab: he made 18 total tackles (2.5 for loss).
Meanwhile, Pinewood Prep took their contest on Friday with ease, bagging a 60-13 win over Northside Christian Academy. The result was nothing new for the Panthers, who have now won eight games by 20 points or more so far this season.
Florence Christian better keep an eye on Silas Brawner. He was instrumental in Pinewood Prep's win, throwing for 338 yards and five touchdowns while completing 80% of his passes. The dominant performance also gave Brawner a new career-high in passer rating (160.4). Tyler Harper did his part for the team as well, scoring a TD off of 82 receiving yards.
Florence Christian's record is now 8-2. As for Pinewood Prep, their record now sits at 8-3.
The upcoming matchup will be a clash of competing strengths. Florence Christian has deployed a run-first offense that has averaged 214.2 rushing yards a game. Meanwhile, Pinewood Prep has preferred to attack from the air: they average 268 passing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Friday? There's only one way to find out.
Florence Christian might still be hurting after the 35-12 loss they got from Pinewood Prep in their previous matchup back in October of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of the Panthers' Will Watson, who rushed for 116 yards and a pair of scores on only 11 carries, and also threw for 61 yards and two TDs. Now that the Eagles know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
