The Rochester Zebras will head out on the road to face off against the Lafayette Central Catholic Knights at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Rochester sitting on three straight wins and Lafayette Central Catholic on six.
Rochester put the finishing touches on their seventh blowout victory of the season two weeks ago. They were the clear victor by a 36-14 margin over Maconaquah. The game was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point Rochester had established a 20 point advantage.
Rochester's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Alex Deming led the charge by rushing for 226 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 9.0 yards per carry. Deming was no stranger to the big play, turning on the jets for a run that went for 59 yards. Colton Ferverda and his 136 yards on the ground were also a key factor in Rochester's win.
Another reason for the win was Rochester's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for five sacks. Maconaquah's QB won't forget Deming anytime soon given Deming sacked him five times.
Meanwhile, Lafayette Central Catholic put the finishing touches on their sixth blowout victory of the season on Friday. They blew past Winamac 42-14 at home. Given Lafayette Central Catholic's advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana football rankings (they are ranked 106th, while Winamac is ranked 220th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Bobby Metzger had an outrageously good game as he threw for 396 yards and five touchdowns while picking up 13.2 yards per attempt. Ray Clayton was another key contributor, picking up 222 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Rochester's win was their fourth straight at home, bumping their overall record up to 7-2. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 48.0 points per game. As for Lafayette Central Catholic, their win bumped their record up to 7-3.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's game: Rochester has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 311.4 rushing yards per game. It's a different story for Lafayette Central Catholic, though, as they've been averaging only 97.3 per game. How will Lafayette Central Catholic fare against such a dominant running game?
Rochester lost to Lafayette Central Catholic on the road by a decisive 24-8 margin when the teams last played back in November of 2022. Can Rochester avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
