After each having a week off, the Jo Byrns Red Devils and the Whitwell Tigers will shake off the rust and duke it out at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Whitwell took a loss in their last game and will be looking to turn the tables on Jo Byrns, who comes in off a win.
Jo Byrns' defense heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed last Friday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Innovation Academy 49-0. The Red Devils might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five matchups by 32 points or more this season.
Meanwhile, Whitwell fought the good fight in their overtime game against Sale Creek last Friday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell 18-12 to the Panthers. The Tigers were red-hot offensively heading into the contest (they scored no less than 31 points in the three matchups prior), but the Panthers' defense proved too tough.
Despite the defeat, Whitwell saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Brody Harvey rushed for 95 yards and two TDs. Harvey is becoming a predictor of the Tigers' success: when he posts at least two rushing touchdowns the team is 2-1 (and 0-5 when he doesn't).
Jo Byrns' win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 5-3. Those road victories came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 8.0 points on average over those games. As for Whitwell, their loss was their first in the district, dropping their district record down to 2-1 and their overall record down to 2-6.
Jo Byrns was dealt a bruising 52-14 defeat at the hands of Whitwell in their previous meeting back in November of 2024. That game was all but decided by halftime, at which point the Red Devils were down 50-0.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
