River Ridge has enjoyed a two-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will face off against the Vanguard Knights at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. River Ridge will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Florida Rankings (they are ranked 301st, while Vanguard is ranked 50th).
Last Friday, things could have been worse for River Ridge, but they could have been a whole lot better as they took a 31-17 loss to Cypress Creek.
Matt Barton put forth a good effort for the losing side as he rushed for 142 yards while picking up 7.5 yards per carry.
Meanwhile, Vanguard got themselves on the board against Forest on Friday, but Forest never followed suit. They blew past the Wildcats, posting a 42-0 win at home. The result was nothing new for Vanguard, who have now won four games by 42 points or more so far this season.
Vanguard can attribute much of their success to Fred Gaskin, who rushed for 55 yards and two touchdowns, and also threw for 72 yards and a touchdown while completing 77.8% of his passes. The team also got some help courtesy of Mitchell Brown , who rushed for 68 yards and a touchdown on only seven carries.
The team's defense also helped out by holding Forest to a paltry 96 yards. A big part of that defensive dominance came down to Vanguard's ability to keep the quarterback under pressure: the team laid him out 11 times before it was all said and done. The heavy lifting was done by Anthony Reason and Daniel Lee johnson jr who racked up five sacks between them.
River Ridge has yet to win a match at home this season, leaving them with a 4-6 record. The slump could be explained by some tough opposition over that stretch, namely Cypress Creek, Fivay, and Wiregrass Ranch. As for Vanguard, the victory makes it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 8-2.
River Ridge was taken down by Vanguard 35-0 in their previous matchup back in November of 2022. Thankfully for River Ridge, Javarien Salter (who rushed for 128 yards and two touchdowns on only ten carries) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
