St. John is 8-2 against Gonzaga since November of 2017, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Saturday. The St. John's Cadets will host the Gonzaga Eagles at 1:00 p.m. Given that both suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this match.
St. John's is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another highly-ranked state team: DeMatha, who was ranked third at the time (St. John's was ranked ninth). St. John's took a 31-15 bruising from DeMatha two weeks ago. The defeat continues a trend for the Cadets in their matchups with the Stags: they've now lost three in a row.
St. John's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Dajon Talley Rhodes, who rushed for 86 yards and a touchdown, and Nyeem Woods, who threw for 88 yards and a touchdown. The dominant performance also gave Woods a new career-high in rushing yards (26).
Even if they lost, St. John's defensive line still kept up the pressure with three sacks. In fact, those sacks all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Deangelo Bowden.
Meanwhile, Friday just wasn't the day for Gonzaga's offense. They came up short against Our Lady of Good Counsel last Friday, falling 21-0. The contest marked the first time this season in which the Eagles were not able to get on the board.
Gonzaga's defeat dropped their record down to 6-3. As for St. John's, their loss ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 5-3.
St. John's came out on top in a nail-biter against Gonzaga in their previous matchup back in November of 2023, sneaking past 23-20. Will St. John's repeat their success, or does Gonzaga have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
