The Eastern Greene Thunderbirds will challenge the South Decatur Cougars at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Eastern Greene is coming into the game on a five-game losing streak.
Eastern Greene is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They took a 39-21 bruising from North Central on Friday.
Despite their loss, Eastern Greene saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Eli Engleking, who picked up 69 receiving yards and one score, and also rushed for 34 yards, was perhaps the best of all.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for South Decatur, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Friday. They breezed past Crimson Knights to the tune of 41-6 on Friday. That 35 point margin sets a new team best for the Cougars this season.
Eastern Greene better keep an eye on Jayden Jackson-Ray. He was instrumental in South Decatur's win, rushing for 112 yards and three touchdowns on only ten carries. They are undefeated when Jackson-Ray posts two or more rushing touchdowns, but 0-5 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Keaton Troutman, who threw for 103 yards and a pair of TDs while completing 77.8% of his passes.
Special teams played a big role in the game for South Decatur, adding 11 points to the final score. The biggest highlight from special teams (and perhaps the team as a whole) came courtesy of Jackson-Ray, who ran a punt back for a touchdown.
Eastern Greene's defeat dropped their record down to 1-8. As for South Decatur, their victory bumped their record up to 3-5.
Eastern Greene strolled past South Decatur in their previous meeting back in October of 2016 by a score of 54-37. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was the Cougars' Damon Allen, who rushed for 310 yards and four scores while picking up 7.8 yards per carry. Now that he won't be playing on Friday, will it be easier for the Thunderbirds to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
