The Lee Academy Cavaliers are taking a road trip to take on the Thomas Heyward Academy Rebels at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Lee Academy has struggled recently with five losses in a row, while Thomas Heyward Academy will arrive with six straight wins.
Lee Academy is headed into the contest out to prove that what happened against Carolina Academy on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Lee Academy lost 35-14 to Carolina Academy.
Meanwhile, Thomas Heyward Academy got the win against Beaufort Academy on Friday by a conclusive 49-25. Considering the Rebels have won six matches by more than 23 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Tony O'Banner continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 178 yards and two touchdowns on only ten carries. His longest rush was for an impressive 51 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total. Backing up that air attack was Colton Young, who rushed for 87 yards and a rushing touchdown.
Thomas Heyward Academy was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 305 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 179 rushing yards in five consecutive matchups.
Thomas Heyward Academy's defense made their presence known, laying out Dietrich Shuford. five times. Owen Palazzo was particularly dangerous to the passing game, picking up two sacks himself. Another thorn in Beaufort Academy's side was Donovan Robinson, who made 13 total tackles and defended two passes.
Thomas Heyward Academy's victory was their seventh straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 9-1. Those good results were due in large part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 8.1 points per game. As for Lee Academy, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-6-1.
Lee Academy strolled past Thomas Heyward Academy in their previous matchup back in November of 2023 by a score of 35-19. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was O'Banner, who rushed for 243 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 11.0 yards per carry, and also threw for 93 yards and a touchdown. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Lee Academy still be able to contain O'Banner? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
