Jacksonville hasn't had much luck against Marshall recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Jacksonville Fightin' Indians will venture away from home to challenge the Marshall Mavericks at 7:30 p.m. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.
Jacksonville is headed into Friday's matchup looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their fifth straight game on Friday. They lost 38-14 to Whitehouse. While losing is never fun, the Fightin' Indians can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 599th, while the Wildcats are ranked 186th).
Despite the loss, Jacksonville had strong showings from Didier Mares, who rushed for 130 yards, and Radarrius Sirls, who rushed for 84 yards. Mares' rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his fourth straight game with at least 101 rushing yards dating back to last season.
Even though they lost, Jacksonville was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 225 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 157 rushing yards in four consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Marshall unfortunately witnessed the end of their three-game winning streak on Friday. They were just a hair shy of victory and fell 43-42 to Texas. Despite 64 more yards than the Tigers, the Mavericks couldn't convert that extra yardage to scores.
Despite the defeat, Marshall got top-tier performance from Alton Henderson, who rushed for 113 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 7.1 yards per carry, and also threw for 193 yards and a touchdown. Henderson showed off some serious burst, turning on the afterburners on one carry for 63 yards. A healthy portion of that aerial production (122 yards to be exact) went to Raijon Sims, who also brought in a receiving touchdown.
Even if they lost, Marshall's defensive line still kept up the pressure with five sacks. Jayden Cooks was particularly dangerous to the passing game, picking up twohimself.
Jacksonville's record is now 1-6. As for Marshall, their record now sits at 4-2.
Friday's match will pit two of the most dominant backs against one another: Mares and Semaj Gatson. Mares has put up some stellar numbers this year, and currently owns excellent season averages 120.6 rushing yards per game this season. For his part, Gatson has averaged 122.2 rushing yards per game this season.
Jacksonville was dealt a bruising 64-21 loss at the hands of Marshall in their previous meeting back in October of 2021. That contest was all but decided by halftime, at which point Jacksonville was down 57-14.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
