The Horizon Hawks will be playing in front of their home fans against the Jones Fightin' Tigers at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Horizon will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Florida Rankings (they are ranked 279th, while Jones is ranked 27th).
Horizon fell victim to Edgewater's stalwart defense on Friday and couldn't make it onto the board. They were dealt a 45-0 loss at the hands of the Eagles. Horizon has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Meanwhile, Jones entered their tilt with Wekiva with three consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with four. Everything went Jones' way against Wekiva on Friday as Jones made off with a 68-47 victory. The result was nothing new for Jones, who have now won four matchups by 21 points or more so far this season.
Jones can attribute much of their success to Trever Jackson, who rushed for 91 yards and two touchdowns on only eight carries, and also threw for 48 yards and a touchdown while completing 75% of his passes. Jackson was no stranger to the big play, turning on the jets for a run that went for 55 yards. Jerrian Parker was another key contributor, rushing for 99 yards and a touchdown on only 13 carries.
Horizon has been struggling recently, as they've lost four of their last five contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-4 record this season. As for Jones, their win was their fourth straight at home, bumping their overall record up to 5-3.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's game: Horizon has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 222.1 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Jones struggles in that department as they've been averaging 161.8 per game. It's looking like Thursday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Horizon took a serious blow against Jones when the teams last played back in October of 2022, falling 47-14. Thankfully for Horizon, Christopher Tooley (who rushed for 116 yards and two touchdowns on only five carries, and also threw for 74 yards and a touchdown while completing 100% of his passes) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
