Vanguard is on a nine-game streak of home wins (dating back to last season), while River Ridge is on a three-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Vanguard Knights will take on the River Ridge Royal Knights at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. River Ridge took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Vanguard, who comes in off a win.
Vanguard put the finishing touches on their fourth blowout victory of the season on Friday. They claimed a resounding 42-0 win over Forest at home. Given Vanguard's advantage in MaxPreps' Florida football rankings (they are ranked 50th, while Forest is ranked 218th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Fred Gaskin got back to being his usual excellent self, as he rushed for 55 yards and two touchdowns, and also threw for 72 yards and a touchdown while completing 77.8% of his passes. Mitchell Brown was another key contributor, rushing for 68 yards and a touchdown on only seven carries.
The team's defense also helped out by holding Forest to a paltry 96 yards. A big part of that defensive dominance came down to Vanguard's ability to keep the quarterback under pressure: the team laid him out 11 times before it was all said and done. The heavy lifting was done by Anthony Reason and Daniel Lee johnson jr who racked up five sacks between them.
Meanwhile, River Ridge ended up a good deal behind Cypress Creek on Friday and lost 31-17.
Matt Barton put forth a good effort for the losing side as he rushed for 142 yards while picking up 7.5 yards per carry.
Vanguard's win bumped their record up to 8-2. As for River Ridge, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-6.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's contest: Vanguard commands a daunting offense this season, having averaged 4.6 touchdowns per game. It's a different story for River Ridge, though, as they've been averaging only 1.8 per game. Will Vanguard continue their march to the end zone, or will River Ridge flip the ? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more football content.
Everything came up roses for Vanguard against River Ridge when the teams last played back in November of 2022 as the squad secured a 35-0 win. Does Vanguard have another victory up their sleeve, or will River Ridge turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
