Ellison was the 49-7 winner over University when they last played one another back in September of 2017, but their luck changed this time around. The Ellison Eagles fell just short of the University Trojans by a score of 37-35 on Friday.
When it comes to explaining why Ellison lost, don't look at Sidney Holland Jr. Despite the final result, he threw for 382 yards and three touchdowns while completing 72.2% of his passes, and also punched in a rushing score. Holland Jr's passing game has become a key predictor of Ellison's success: the team is 2-1 when his passer rating is 100 or higher, but only 3-4 otherwise. Joseph Fowlkes Iv helped Holland Jr out on the ground, picking up 83 receiving yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 30 yards.
University got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was London Smith out in front who picked up 146 receiving yards and a touchdown. Keandre Brooks did his part to keep the secondary busy, picking up 122 receiving yards.
Ellison's defeat dropped their record down to 5-5. As for University, their victory was their 11th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 7-3.
Both are set to take part in some playoff action in their next matches. Ellison will challenge Iowa Colony at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The two teams might be coming in a bit winded given these two teams combined for 996 yards in their previous games. As for University, they will face off against Fort Bend Marshall at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Fort Bend Marshall is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 30.1 points per game this season.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
