Two dominant backs in Elijah Kimble and Terrence Pendergrass are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Canisius Crusaders will head out on the road to face off against the St. Francis Red Raiders at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in New York (Canisius is ranked 20th, while St. Francis is ranked 18th).
After a string of three wins, Canisius' good fortune finally ran out on Friday. The contest between Canisius and Lancaster wasn't particularly close, with Canisius falling 28-13.
Canisius' loss came about despite a quality game from Kimble, who rushed for 165 yards and a touchdown while picking up 9.7 yards per carry. Kimble is on a roll when it comes to rushing yards, as he's now rushed for 100 or more in the last four games he's played.
Meanwhile, St. Francis ended up a good deal behind Archbishop Hoban on Saturday and lost 28-13.
Despite their defeat, St. Francis saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Jeremiah Neely, who picked up 39 receiving yards and two touchdowns, was perhaps the best of all.
The losses dropped Canisius to 3-4 and St. Francis to 2-5.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Saturday's game: Canisius has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 214 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like St. Francis struggles in that department as they've been averaging 164.6 per game. It's looking like Saturday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Canisius took a serious blow against St. Francis in their previous matchup back in November of 2022, falling 50-20. Thankfully for Canisius, Ricardo Kidd (who rushed for 168 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 9.3 yards per carry) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
