Two dominant backs in Noah Moss and Collin Moore are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The St. Michael Catholic Cardinals will take on the Pleasant Grove Spartans at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
St. Michael Catholic is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They put the hurt on Handley with a sharp 63-40 win. The Cardinals 's offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.
Moss was his usual excellent self, rushing for 217 yards and five touchdowns while picking up 9.0 yards per carry, and also picking up 90 receiving yards and a touchdown. His rushing production has been exceptional as that marked his seventh straight game with at least 110 rushing yards. Gunner Rivers was another key player, throwing for 247 yards and four touchdowns.
St. Michael Catholic didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Brayden Smith and Kamarjay Lavoie.
Meanwhile, Pleasant Grove entered their tilt with Straughn on Friday with eight consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with nine. They took their matchup with ease, bagging a 62-21 victory over the Tigers. Given the Spartans' advantage in MaxPreps' Alabama football rankings (they are ranked 44th, while the Tigers are ranked 227th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Pleasant Grove's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Moore, who gained 222 total yards and four touchdowns, and Kaleb Freeman, who threw for 338 yards and five touchdowns on only 18 passes. Moore really caught the secondary sleeping when he pulled down a catch that went for 99 yards. Tremell Washington was Freeman's top target, picking up 119 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Pleasant Grove's win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 9-1. Those victories were due in large part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 7.0 points per game. As for St. Michael Catholic, the victory was the fifth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 10-1.
The upcoming contest will be a clash of competing strengths. St. Michael Catholic has relied on air attacks this season and has averaged 283 passing yards per game. Pleasant Grove, on the other hand, has relied on a stout run game: they average 198.5 rushing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Friday? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
