Jesuit is on a seven-game streak of home wins, while Gaither is on a four-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Jesuit Tigers will take on the Gaither Cowboys at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Jesuit had already proven themselves in the regular season, and didn't miss a beat now that it's playoff time. They took their game at home on Friday with ease, bagging a 38-7 win over Northeast. Considering Jesuit has won five contests by more than 20 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Jesuit relied on the efforts of Will Griffin, who threw for 297 yards and four touchdowns while completing 81.8% of his passes, and Willy Suarez, who gained 171 total yards and four touchdowns. Griffin hasn't dropped below three passing touchdowns for three straight games.
Meanwhile, Gaither owes their defense a big pat on the back after their performance on Friday. They strolled past Largo with points to spare, taking the game 16-0.
Gaither found their leader in underclassman Elija Mason, who rushed for 145 yards and a touchdown. Mason hasn't dropped below 100 rushing yards for three straight games.
Another reason for the win was Gaither's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for 11 sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Antonio Henley and Jaron Gunn who racked up nine sacks between them.
Jesuit's victory bumped their record up to 10-2. As for Gaither, they are on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven contests, which provided a massive bump to their 7-5 record this season.
Jesuit barely slipped by Gaither when the teams last played back in October, winning 36-35. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Gaither's Jayce Nixon, who threw for 273 yards and four touchdowns, and also punched in a touchdown on the ground. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Jesuit still be able to contain him? There's only one way to find out.
