Two dominant signal callers in Elijiah Oehlke and Ricky Tolbert are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Trinity Christian Crusaders will take on the Asheville School (Independent) Blues at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Trinity Christian will be looking to extend their current ten-game winning streak.
Trinity Christian is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They secured a 50-44 W over High Point Christian Academy. The defensive woes were uncharacteristic for the Crusaders, who until this match were averaging 13.73 points allowed.
It was another big night for Oehlke, who threw for 434 yards and five touchdowns while completing 72.7% of his passes, and also punched in a touchdown on the ground. He has been hot , having posted three or more passing touchdowns the last eight times he's played. A healthy portion of Oehlke's aerial production (150 yards to be exact) went to Karlfonza McLean-Smith, who also brought in a receiving touchdown.
Trinity Christian didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Jaquavious Crumpler and Xayden Watson. With that strong performance, Watson is now averaging an impressive 103.2 receiving yards per game. Another thorn in High Point Christian Academy's side was Dontario Austin, who made 12 total tackles.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Asheville School (Independent)). They blew past Hickory Grove Christian 51-9 on Friday. The Blues' offense checked out after the first half but had enough points banked to take the game anyway.
Tolbert was his usual excellent self, throwing for 326 yards and six touchdowns while completing 81.3% of his passes. Hayezon Tobe did his part for the team as well, scoring a TD off of 117 receiving yards.
Trinity Christian's victory was their sixth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 10-1. Those victories were due in large part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 12.5 points per game. As for Asheville School (Independent), the win (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 6-1.
We should be in store for an exciting game as Trinity Christian and Asheville School (Independent) have no problem gaining yardage. Trinity Christian has been on an offensive roll this season, having averaged 368.6 total yards per game. However, it's not like Asheville School (Independent) struggles in that department as they've been averaging 355.2. With a pair of commanding offenses duking it out, the defenses are going to have their work cut out for them.
Trinity Christian came up short against Asheville School (Independent) in their previous meeting back in November of 2023, falling 42-29. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Tolbert, who rushed for 97 yards and two touchdowns, and also threw for 138 yards and two touchdowns. Now that Trinity Christian knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
