King Academy and Laurens Academy are an even 5-5 against one another since October of 2015, but not for long. The King Academy Knights and the Laurens Academy Crusaders are set to duel on Friday. King Academy is out to stop a five-game streak of losses at home dating back to last season.
King Academy is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of South Carolina's top teams: Newberry Academy, who was ranked seventh in their home state at the time (King Academy was ranked eighth). King Academy came out on top against Newberry Academy by a score of 40-32 on Friday. The Knights' offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.
Meanwhile, after some red-hot attacks on offense in their last three contests, Laurens Academy finally came back down to earth on Friday. They were dealt a 62-12 defeat at the hands of Richard Winn Academy. The game marked the Crusaders' lowest-scoring match so far this season.
Laurens Academy might have lost, but man, Garrett Murphy was a machine: he rushed for 106 yards on only ten carries, and also picked up 64 receiving yards. Murphy's rushing production has been exceptional as that marked his seventh straight game with at least 106 rushing yards. Laurens Academy also got a significant boost from Mason Cooper, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 92 yards.
Even though they lost, Laurens Academy was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 201 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 166 rushing yards in nine consecutive matchups.
With the win, King Academy broke their five-game losing streak and moved their record to 2-6. As for Laurens Academy, their loss ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 6-3.
King Academy ended up a good deal behind Laurens Academy when the teams last played back in September, losing 52-36. Will King Academy have more luck at home instead of on the road? 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
