The South Columbus Stallions will head out on the road to challenge the Pender Patriots at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
South Columbus will head into Friday's contest hoping to keep the good times rolling: they proved they can win big two weeks ago (they won by 64) but on Friday they proved they can win the close ones too. They skirted past East Bladen 25-22.
South Columbus wouldn't let East Bladen keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force three fumbles. South Columbus can thank Shiroski Myers and Rush Blackwell for forcing all of them.
Meanwhile, after only 12 points in their last game, Pender made sure to put some points up on the board against East Columbus on Friday. Pender breezed by East Columbus at home to the tune of 73-6. Considering the Patriots have won three matchups by more than 66 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Jeremiah Johnson was his usual excellent self, rushing for 122 yards and three touchdowns on only nine carries. His rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his fourth straight game with at least 122 rushing yards dating back to last season. The team also got some help courtesy of Jahiem Lambe, who rushed for 60 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 454 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Pender's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. The picks came courtesy of Demari Morgan and Zeke Williams.
South Columbus' win bumped their record up to 4-1. As for Pender, their victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 3-1.
South Columbus beat Pender 37-30 in their previous meeting back in September of 2023. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Johnson, who rushed for 148 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 8.2 yards per carry. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will South Columbus still be able to contain Johnson? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
