Joppa-Maple Grove is 0-6 against Elverado/Zeigler-Royalton since January of 2020 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Monday. The Joppa-Maple Grove Rangers will head out on the road to challenge Elverado/Zeigler-Royalton at 6:00 p.m. Joppa-Maple Grove comes in still looking for their first win of the season.
Joppa-Maple Grove suffered their biggest loss since November 14, 2023 on Tuesday. They were dealt a 69-23 loss at the hands of Century. Joppa-Maple Grove was in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 39-12.
Meanwhile, it's never fun to lose, and it's even less fun to lose 67-33, which was the final score in Elverado/Zeigler-Royalton's tilt against Pope County on Thursday. While losing is never fun, Elverado/Zeigler-Royalton can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 650th, while Pope County is ranked 297th).
Despite their loss, Elverado/Zeigler-Royalton saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Brylee Martin, who scored 15 points, was perhaps the best of all. The team also got some help courtesy of Shelby Grove, who scored nine points.
Joppa-Maple Grove's defeat was their seventh straight on the road dating back to last season, which dropped their record down to 0-9. As for Elverado/Zeigler-Royalton, they have been struggling recently, as they've lost 13 of their last 15 contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-20 record this season.
Joppa-Maple Grove came up short against Elverado/Zeigler-Royalton in their previous matchup back in December of 2022, falling 49-43. Can Joppa-Maple Grove avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
