St. Anthony had already proven themselves in the regular season and they didn't miss a beat now that it's playoff time. They secured a 35-30 W over the Cardinal Hayes Cardinals on Friday. That result was just more of the same for these two, as the Friars also won the last time the pair played two weeks ago.
Gary Merrill was his usual excellent self, rushing for 227 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 8.4 yards per carry, and also throwing for 77 yards and a touchdown while completing 75% of his passes. That's the most rushing yards he has posted since back in September of 2023. Backing up that air attack was Xavier Bala, who rushed for 89 yards.
St. Anthony's was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 316 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 174 rushing yards in 11 consecutive matchups.
St. Anthony's wouldn't let Cardinal Hayes keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force three fumbles. St. Anthony's can thank Cam Urso and Anthony Kenner for forcing all of them. Urso also set a new season high mark in total tackles with seven.
St. Anthony's is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine matches, which provided a nice bump to their 9-3 record this season. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 38.6 points per game. As for Cardinal Hayes, their loss ended a nine-game streak of away wins dating back to last season and brought them to 7-4.
St. Anthony's and Cardinal Hayes are set to take part in some playoff action in their next matches. St. Anthony's will face off against Iona Prep at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Iona Prep will roll in looking for their eighth straight victory, something St. Anthony's surely won't give up without a fight. After each having a week off, Cardinal Hayes and Mt. St. Michael Academy will shake off the cobwebs and face off against one another at 10:30 a.m. on November 28th. Mt. St. Michael Academy is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 29 points per game this season.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
