For the first time this season, Cardinal Hayes will have a chance to prove themselves in a conference matchup. They will face off against the Iona Prep Gaels at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Cardinal Hayes is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another highly-ranked state team: St. Joseph Regional, who was ranked fourth in their home state at the time (Cardinal Hayes was ranked ninth). The Cardinals were outmatched by the Green Knights and fell 48-0.
Meanwhile, Iona Prep put another one in the bag last Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They took their matchup with ease, bagging a 34-0 victory over St. Joseph-by-the-Sea. The score at the end of the third wound up being the final score as the Gaels just coasted through the last quarter.
Iona Prep's win came from a few key players Cardinal Hayes will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Crew Davis, who rushed for 116 yards and three scores on only six carries, and also picked up 31 receiving yards. He got the majority of those rushing yards when he took off on a run that went for an incredible 66 yards. Julian Guzman was another key player, throwing for 167 yards and one touchdown while completing 83.3% of his passes.
Iona Prep was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 260 rushing yards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as St. Joseph-by-the-Sea only rushed for 29.
Iona Prep's record now sits at 3-0. As for Cardinal Hayes, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-1.
Cardinal Hayes couldn't quite get it done against Iona Prep in their previous matchup back in October of 2024 as they fell 34-27. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Guzman, who rushed for 66 yards and one TD on only eight carries, and also threw for 207 yards and one touchdown. Now that the Cardinals know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps