The Catholic Central Shamrocks will face off against the Northville Mustangs at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Catholic Central had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 26.3 points), and they went ahead and made it five on Friday. They blew past Novi 49-22 on the road. Given Catholic Central's advantage in MaxPreps' Michigan football rankings (they are ranked 23rd, while Novi is ranked 97th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Jaden Pydyn had a dynamite game for Catholic Central, rushing for 184 yards and three touchdowns on only 15 carries. Catholic Central also got a significant boost from Lee Krueger, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 120 yards.
Catholic Central's defense stepped up as well, laying out the QB four times. Leading the way was Cael Rogowski and his two sacks.
Northville never got on the board in their matchup two weeks ago, but that sure wasn't the case in their game against Brighton last Friday. They put the hurt on the Bulldogs with a sharp 42-18 victory.
Northville's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Colin Charles, who picked up 189 receiving yards and three touchdowns, and also rushed for 82 yards on only five carries. Charles' longest reception was for an incredible 81 yards. Isaac Pace was another key contributor, throwing for 239 yards and four touchdowns while completing 81.8% of his passes.
Their wins bumped Catholic Central to 8-2 and Northville to 9-1.
Catholic Central took their win against Northville in their previous matchup back in November of 2022 by a conclusive 42-17. Does Catholic Central have another victory up their sleeve, or will Northville turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
