The Elizabeth Cardinals will take on the Englewood Pirates at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have allowed few points on average, (Elizabeth: 10.6, Englewood: 13.7) so any points scored will be well earned.
Elizabeth's defense heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed last Friday. They blew past Bennett, posting a 49-0 win at home. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Cardinals.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Elizabeth was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 223 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 174 rushing yards in five consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, Englewood has relied on a stalwart defense averaging 13.71 points allowed per game, but that average took a hit on Friday. They took a blow against Strasburg, falling 35-0. The contest marked the first time this season in which the Pirates were not able to get on the board.
Englewood wouldn't let Strasburg keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Englewood can thank Logan Mael and Kai Robb for forcing both of them.
Elizabeth's victory was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 5-2. As for Englewood, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 4-3.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Elizabeth has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 179.9 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Englewood struggles in that department as they've been averaging 185.6. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Everything came up roses for Elizabeth against Englewood in their previous meeting back in September of 2023, as the squad secured a 49-6 win. In that match, Elizabeth amassed a halftime lead of 35-0, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
