Jefferson is on a four-game streak of home losses also dating back to last season, Manual a five-game streak of away losses also dating back to last season, but someone's luck is about to change on Thursday. The Jefferson Saints will face off against the Manual Thunderbolts at 7:00 p.m.
Jefferson's offense might be in the hot seat on Thursday considering what happened against Highland on Thursday. They took a blow against the Huskies, falling 72-0. Having soared to a lofty 34 points in the game before, the Saints' shutout was a dramatic turnaround.
Meanwhile, after only 12 points in their last matchup, Manual made sure to put some points up on the board against Estes Park on Saturday. Manual simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Estes Park 52-8. The Thunderbolts might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won three games by 44 points or more this season.
Manual was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 239 rushing yards. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 97 rushing yards per game earlier this season, but in their last three matches they've averaged 224.7.
One reason for the win was Manual's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for four sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Tyree Toliver and Michael Bady, who racked up all four sacks between them.
Jefferson's loss ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 3-5. As for Manual, the victory got them back to even at 4-4.
Jefferson took a serious blow against Manual when the teams last played back in August of 2023, falling 28-0. Can Jefferson avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps