Oak Grove has played every game this season on their home field, but they'll have to hit the road on Friday. They will hit the road for the first time this season to face off against the Madison-Ridgeland Academy Patriots at 7:00 p.m.
Oak Grove is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Mississippi's top teams: Hattiesburg, who was ranked fourth in their home state at the time (Oak Grove was ranked fifth). Oak Grove fell to Hattiesburg 27-21. The Warriors' loss signaled the end of their eight-game winning streak dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Madison-Ridgeland Academy took their match on the road on Friday with ease, bagging a 48-13 victory over St. Joseph Catholic. Given the Patriots' advantage in MaxPreps' Mississippi football rankings (they are ranked 19th, while the Bruins are ranked 168th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Having lost for the first time this season, Oak Grove fell to 2-1. As for Madison-Ridgeland Academy, they pushed their record up to 4-1 with that win, which was their fourth straight on the road dating back to last season.
Oak Grove won a contest that couldn't have been any closer in their previous meeting back in September of 2023, slipping by Madison-Ridgeland Academy 45-44. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Madison-Ridgeland Academy's John White, who threw for 399 yards and three touchdowns while completing 83.3% of his passes, and also punched in two rushing scores. Now that he won't be playing on Friday, will it be easier for Oak Grove to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
