After each having a week off, the University School of Jackson Bruins and the Nashville Christian Eagles will shake off the rust and duke it out at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with University School of Jackson sitting on four straight victories and Nashville Christian on 22 (dating back to last season).
University School of Jackson is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup last Friday. They took down Providence Christian Academy 31-12. Given the Bruins' advantage in MaxPreps' Tennessee football rankings (they are ranked 35th, while the LIONS are ranked 94th) , the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Meanwhile, Nashville Christian humbled Trinity Christian Academy with a 41-7 victory. Considering the Eagles have won nine contests by more than 27 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Nashville Christian's win came from a few key players University School of Jackson will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Jared Curtis, who threw for 198 yards and three touchdowns, and also rushed for 86 yards and one TD on only ten carries. He got the majority of those rushing yards when he took off on a run that went for an incredible 77 yards. Another player making a difference was TJ Ward, who rushed for 143 yards and a pair of scores on only ten carries.
Nashville Christian's run defense was locked in: Trinity Christian Academy could only muster three yards per carry. While one picked up at least four total tackles, Keandre Gibson stood above the rest. He made four total tackles (1.0 for loss) and snagged two interceptions. Nashville Christian didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 11.5.
Nashville Christian's defense didn't let Owen Atwood, get away unscathed either: they got into the backfield for three sacks. The team can thank three different players for their defensive prowess: RJ Perkins, Michael Hoskins, and Colt McClary, who each picked up one sack apiece. Nashville Christian got some further help from Gibson: he made four total tackles (1.0 for loss) and snagged two interceptions.
Nashville Christian's win bumped their record up to 12-0. As for University School of Jackson, their victory bumped their record up to 11-1.
Everything went University School of Jackson's way against Nashville Christian when the teams last played back in August of 2020, as University School of Jackson made off with a 30-7 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Bruins since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
