Two dominant backs in Austin Gaertner and Benjamin Young Iii are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Faith Christian Patriots and the St. David's Warriors are set to duel on Friday. Faith Christian is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 41.3 points per game this season.
Faith Christian is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of North Carolina's top teams: Father Capodanno, who was ranked 18th in their home state at the time (Faith Christian was ranked fifth). Faith Christian claimed a resounding 64-0 win over Father Capodanno at home. The Patriots might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four games by 28 points or more this season.
Blayde Hinton went supernova for Faith Christian, rushing for 47 yards and two touchdowns, while also throwing for 123 yards and three touchdowns while completing 90% of his passes. Gaertner was another key player, rushing for 67 yards and a touchdown on only six carries.
Faith Christian didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Vincent Wilson, Aiden Parks, and Isaac Suber picked up one apiece.
Meanwhile, after soaring to 35 points the game before, St. David's was a bit more limited in their contest two weeks ago. They lost 35-12 to Rocky Mount Academy. The matchup marked the Warriors' lowest-scoring match so far this season.
Despite the defeat, St. David's got top-tier performance from Young Iii, who rushed for 295 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 8.4 yards per carry. Young Iii really tore up the turf during one magnificent 85-yard run.
St. David's wouldn't let Rocky Mount Academy keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force four fumbles. Young Iii led the group effort, picking up two of those forced fumbles all by himself. Those 295 rushing yards gave him a new career-high.
Even though they lost, St. David's was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 288 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 186 rushing yards in six consecutive games.
Faith Christian now has a winning record of 4-3. As for St. David's, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost three of their last four contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 3-3 record this season.
Friday's match might be decided in the on the ground. Faith Christian has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 185.3 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like St. David's struggles in that department as they've been averaging 239.8. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Everything came up roses for Faith Christian against St. David's when the teams last played back in September of 2021, as the team secured a 50-6 victory. Will Faith Christian repeat their success, or does St. David's have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
