Two dominant backs in Brandon Johnson Jr. and Brandon Jenkins are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The St. Rita Mustangs will venture away from home to face off against the Hersey Huskies at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with St. Rita sitting on five straight victories and Hersey on nine.
St. Rita is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Saturday. They had just enough and edged out Lincoln-Way Central 31-28. St. Rita's win was all the more impressive since the Knights were averaging only 12 points allowed on the season.
Special teams was a major factor in the game for St. Rita, racking up 13 points in total. The biggest highlight from special teams (and perhaps the team as a whole) came courtesy of Walter Jones, who ran a kickoff back for a touchdown.
Meanwhile, in Friday's Canine Competition, Hersey came out on top. They blew past Richards 42-21 on Friday. The Huskies might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won eight games by 21 points or more this season.
St. Rita better keep an eye on Jake Nawrot. He was instrumental in Hersey's win, throwing for 153 yards and two TDs, while also punching in a pair of scores on the ground.
Hersey was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 350 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in October of 2024.
On the defensive side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Hersey's defense and their six sacks. Leading the way was Nick Jelaca with two. He also set a new season-high mark in total tackles with nine. Ryne Sather was another major factor on D, picking up a sack, forcing one fumble, and making seven total tackles.
St. Rita's victory bumped their record up to 7-4. As for Hersey, their win bumped their record up to 9-2.
The upcoming contest will be a clash of competing strengths. St. Rita has deployed a run-first offense that has averaged 170.3 rushing yards a game. Meanwhile, Hersey has preferred to attack from the air: they average 267.2 passing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Saturday? There's only one way to find out.
