The St. Francis Red Raiders will head out on the road to square off against the Iona Prep Gaels at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. St. Francis is coming into the matchup hot, having won their last eight games.
The home team had won the previous five meetings between St. Francis and Canisius, and St. Francis kept the tradition alive. The Red Raiders came out on top against the Crusaders by a score of 41-34 on Saturday.
The match pitted two dominant backs against one another in Tyrone Clark Jr. and Elijah Kimble. Clark Jr. had a great game and rushed for 98 yards and a pair of TDs. Meanwhile, Kimble was balling out in the loss, rushing for 199 yards and five touchdowns while picking up 7.4 yards per carry.
Meanwhile, it's playoff time, and Iona Prep had no trouble coming through when it counted. They were the clear victors by a 42-20 margin over Monsignor Farrell on Saturday. The result was nothing new for the Gaels, who have now won eight games by 22 points or more so far this season.
Iona Prep had a senior duo take command as Crew Davis gained 253 total yards and a touchdown and Julian Guzman rushed for 66 yards and a pair of scores. Davis also set a new season-high mark in rushing yards with 202.
Iona Prep was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 313 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in November of 2024.
Iona Prep didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Zander Poole and Joshua Simmons.
Iona Prep's victory bumped their record up to 10-1. As for St. Francis, their win bumped their record up to an identical 10-1.
Saturday's contest might be decided on the ground. St. Francis has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 258.2 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Iona Prep struggles in that department as they've been averaging 204.4 rushing yards. There's a good chance Saturday's matchup turns into a tough fight on the ground.
St. Francis lost to Iona Prep on the road by a decisive 38-22 margin in their previous matchup back in November of 2021. Can the Red Raiders avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
