Mineral Ridge hasn't had much luck against Western Reserve recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Rams will head out to challenge the Blue Devils at 7:00 p.m. Mineral Ridge's defense has only allowed 14.1 points per game this season, so Western Reserve's offense will have their work cut out for them.
Mineral Ridge is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to 49 points last Friday, they were much more limited against Springfield on Friday. They fell 19-7 to the Tigers. The contest marked the Rams' lowest-scoring matchup so far this season.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Western Reserve, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Friday. Their defense stepped up to hand Waterloo a 47-0 shutout on Thursday. The game marked the Blue Devils' most dominant victory of the season.
Mineral Ridge better keep an eye on Timmy Serensky. He was instrumental in Western Reserve's win, rushing for 145 yards and three TDs on only six carries, while also picking up 42 receiving yards and one score. Serensky's longest rush was for an impressive 55 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total. Another player making a difference was Nate Alexander, who gained 118 total yards and two touchdowns.
Special teams played a big role in the game for Western Reserve, adding 11 points to the final score. The biggest highlight from special teams (and perhaps the team as a whole) came courtesy of Alexander, who ran a punt back for a touchdown.
Western Reserve's win bumped their record up to 3-5. As for Mineral Ridge, their loss was their first in the conference, dropping their conference record down to 4-1 and their overall record down to 6-2.
Mineral Ridge was taken down by Western Reserve 39-12 in their previous matchup back in October of 2024. Thankfully for the Rams, Jack Darney (who rushed for 217 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 9.0 yards per carry) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
