The Homer Knights will face off against the Pender Pendragons at 7:00 a.m. on Friday. Homer has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the matchup with three straight defeats, while Pender will come in with three straight wins.
It's never fun to lose, and it's even less fun to lose 47-6, which was the final score in Homer's tilt against Guardian Angels Central Catholic on Friday. While losing is never fun, the Knights can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska football rankings (they are ranked 110th, while the Bluejays are ranked 34th).
Meanwhile, Pender didn't have too much trouble with Tri County Northeast on the road on Friday as they won 31-12.
Owen Kneifl was his usual excellent self, rushing for 154 yards and two touchdowns.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Pender was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 217 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 217 rushing yards in three consecutive matches.
Homer's loss dropped their record down to 1-3. As for Pender, their victory bumped their record up to 3-1.
Friday's game might be decided in the on the ground. Homer has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 149.5 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Pender struggles in that department as they've been averaging 234.5. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Homer took a serious blow against Pender in their previous matchup back in October of 2021, falling 56-16. That matchup was all but decided by halftime, at which point Homer was down 28-8.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
