The Essex Trojans will square off against the Charles City Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Essex has four straight victories, Charles City has 13 straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Essex's defense heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 2-0 win over King & Queen Central. Given the Trojans' advantage in MaxPreps' Virginia football rankings (they are ranked 140th, while the Royal Tigers are ranked 322nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Meanwhile, Charles City took a blow against Surry County last Friday, falling 50-6.
Charles City's loss came about despite a quality game from Shane Jones, who rushed for 42 yards and a touchdown, and also picked up 41 receiving yards. The dominant performance gave Jones a new career-high in rushing yards.
Essex's victory was their eighth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 4-0. As for Charles City, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-4.
Everything came up roses for Essex against Charles City when the teams last played back in September of 2023, as the team secured a 51-0 win. Does Essex have another victory up their sleeve, or will Charles City turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
