The Jefferson County Patriots will look to defend their home field on Friday against the Cleveland Blue Raiders at 7:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Jefferson County had already won eight in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 21.9 points), and they went ahead and made it nine on Friday. They took their contest at home with ease, bagging a 68-28 victory over William Blount. Given Jefferson County's advantage in MaxPreps' Tennessee football rankings (they are ranked 20th, while William Blount is ranked 125th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Omarian Mills was his usual excellent self, rushing for 156 yards and three touchdowns on only 12 carries. Mills is on a roll when it comes to rushing touchdowns, as he's now punched in two or more in the last three games he's played. Skylar Thomas was another key contributor, rushing for 73 yards and two touchdowns on only five carries.
Meanwhile, Cleveland had to endure a three-game losing streak, but that streak is no more. They blew past Hardin Valley Academy 29-3.
Brayden Carroll and Lj Adams were among the main playmakers for Cleveland as the former picked up 122 receiving yards and a touchdown and the latter rushed for 37 yards and a touchdown. Carroll's longest reception was for an incredible 76 yards.
Jefferson County's victory was their fifth straight at home, bumping their overall record up to 9-1. It's not like the team was facing easy opposition over that stretch either, as it included 9-1 Sevier County and 5-4 West Ridge (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 62.1% over those games). As for Cleveland, their win bumped their record up to 6-4.
