Minerva has enjoyed a two-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will take on the West Branch Warriors at 6:45 p.m. on Friday. Minerva will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Ohio Rankings (they are ranked 313th, while West Branch is ranked 139th).
Last Tuesday, Minerva lost to Malvern at home by a decisive 49-33 margin. Minerva has not had much luck with Malvern recently, as the team's come up short the last seven times they've met.
Meanwhile, West Branch stacked a sixth blowout win onto their ever-increasing hoard on Tuesday. They took their contest at home with ease, bagging a 74-47 win over Columbiana. The win was familiar territory for West Branch who now have five in a row.
Minerva has been struggling recently, as they've lost three of their last four matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 8-5 record this season. As for West Branch, they pushed their record up to 11-2 with that win, which was their third straight at home.
Minerva was dealt a bruising 54-27 loss at the hands of West Branch in their previous meeting back in December of 2023. Can Minerva avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
