The Wheeling Central Catholic Maroon Knights have the luxury of staying home for another week and will welcome the Catholic Central Crusaders at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are strolling into their contests after big wins in their previous games.
Wheeling Central Catholic is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They claimed a resounding 55-20 victory over Ron Brown at home. Considering the Maroon Knights have won four games by more than 21 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Wheeling Central Catholic's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Nico Kusic led the charge by throwing for 232 yards and three touchdowns while completing 92.3% of his passes, and also rushing for 41 yards and a touchdown. Kusic also put in work on the defensive side of the ball, defending a pass and snagged an interception. Another rusher making a difference was Isaac Martin, who rushed for 111 yards and three touchdowns.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Wheeling Central Catholic was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 322 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 291 rushing yards in three consecutive matches.
Wheeling Central Catholic didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Joey Jerrome and Kusic.
Meanwhile, Catholic Central waltzed into their matchup on Saturday with four straight wins... but they left with five. They took their contest at home with ease, bagging a 35-7 win over the Golden Bears. The victory was all the more spectacular given the Crusaders' disadvantage in MaxPreps' football rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 565th in Ohio, while the Golden Bears are ranked 103rd in West Virginia).
Catholic Central's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Tommy Pergi, who rushed for 64 yards and a touchdown on only six carries, and also picked up 58 receiving yards and a touchdown. Matthew Sprochi was another key player, rushing for 30 yards and a touchdown.
Wheeling Central Catholic's win bumped their record up to 4-2. As for Catholic Central, they pushed their record up to 6-1 with the victory, which was their ninth straight at home dating back to last season.
Friday's game might be decided in the on the ground. Wheeling Central Catholic has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 235.7 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Catholic Central struggles in that department as they've been averaging 221.7. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Everything came up roses for Wheeling Central Catholic against Catholic Central in their previous matchup back in September of 2019, as the squad secured a 39-12 win. Will Wheeling Central Catholic repeat their success, or does Catholic Central have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
