The Raytown Bluejays will face off against the Smith-Cotton Tigers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Raytown is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. Their defense stepped up to hand Battle a 42-0 shutout. The result was nothing new for the Bluejays, who have now won six games by 22 points or more so far this season.
Jaeden Davis
| 09/12/25 vs Belton | 3 |
| 10/31/25 vs Battle | 2 |
| 10/03/25 vs Truman | 2 |
| 09/26/25 @ Ruskin | 2 |
| 09/19/25 @ Excelsior Springs | 1 |
| + 1 more games |
Jaeden Davis went supernova, picking up 147 receiving yards and two TDs. He has become a key player for Raytown: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two receiving touchdowns, but 2-4 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Aaron Giles, who rushed for 103 yards on only 11 carries.
Raytown didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off four passes before the game was over. Keone Harrison led the group effort, picking up two of those interceptions all by himself. Another thorn in Battle's side was Javontez Taylor Poe, who picked up 2.5 sacks, forced one fumble, and made six total tackles (3.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Smith-Cotton). They breezed past Grandview to the tune of 48-7 on Thursday. Given the Tigers' advantage in MaxPreps' Missouri football rankings (they are ranked 97th, while the Bulldogs are ranked 244th) , the win wasn't entirely unexpected.
Smith-Cotton's win came from a few key players Raytown will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Armand Wright, who rushed for 101 yards and one touchdown on only five carries. The bulk of those rushing yards came from one huge play: a run that gained an incredible 53 yards. Koleman Fredrickson was another key player, throwing for 64 yards and a pair of TDs.
Smith-Cotton was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 250 rushing yards. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 95.4 rushing yards per game earlier this season, but in their last five contests they've averaged 187.3.
The victory snapped Raytown's losing streak at three games and leaves them with a 6-4 record. As for Smith-Cotton, their record now sits at an identical 6-4.
Everything came up roses for Raytown against Smith-Cotton when the teams last played back in October of 2020, as the team secured a 36-0 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Bluejays since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
