The St. Anthony's Friars will head out to face off against the Kellenberg Memorial Firebirds at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in St. Anthony's favor is that they have posted at least 31 points in their last five matchups.
Last Friday, St. Anthony's made easy work of St. John the Baptist and carried off a 34-13 win. With the Friars ahead 21-0 at the half, the contest was all but over already.
Gary Merrill was his usual excellent self, rushing for 197 yards and three touchdowns on only 11 carries. His rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his third straight game with at least 197 rushing yards dating back to last season. Xavier Bala also helped out as he racked up 109 rushing yards.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, St. Anthony's was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 322 rushing yards. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved they're rushing yard total in three consecutive games.
St. Anthony's defense made their presence known, laying out the QB three times. In fact, those sacks all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Daniel (Dj) Garcia.
Meanwhile, Kellenberg Memorial was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their third straight defeat. They were outmatched by Iona Prep on the road and fell 42-7. While losing is never fun, the Firebirds can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' New York football rankings (they are ranked 52nd, while the Gaels are ranked first).
St. Anthony's has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matches, which provided a nice bump to their 5-3 record this season. As for Kellenberg Memorial, their loss dropped their record down to 2-6.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's matchup: St. Anthony's has been on an offensive roll this season, having averaged 354.9 total yards per game. It's a different story for Kellenberg Memorial, though, as they've been averaging only 217.1. Will St. Anthony's be able to march up the field at their leisure again, or will Kellenberg Memorial flip the script? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other football content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
