Snider (4-3) at Bishop Dwenger (6-1)
Prediction: Dwenger wins 28-14
Snider comes into this game with a lot of confidence after winning four of their last five. They’ve outscored opponents 79-6 in their last two games and have only allowed teams to reach double-digits in two of their games all year. Now that the Panthers’ young roster have begun to form chemistry and find their leaders, they’ve seen a huge improvement in their play. RB Tyrese Brown has been the engine of this offense, rushing for 324 yards and 5 TD in his last two games. Now that the Panthers have a formula for scoring points on offense, the defense has been able to make key contributions and keep teams from scoring points. Reece Thomas is a player to be feared on this defensive line, making 11 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, and 3 sacks over the last two weeks. Linebackers Isaiah Maxwell and Domanick Moon have also been game changers with 29 tackles between the two in that same span. While this is a much different Snider team from what we saw a few weeks ago, this is still the same Dwenger team. Every one of the Saints wins has come by double digits, leaving nothing to chance. Currently, Dwenger is eyeing their third straight year of finishing with only one loss in SAC play. No team has a better record than they have over that span. Much of that is due to senior quarterback Brenden Lytle, who has passed for 1,180 yards and 12 TD this year. The defense has also been nothing short of spectacular, allowing 113 points though 7 games, good for second in the SAC. Snider should put up a fight, especially early, but as long as Dwenger doesn’t turn the ball over and wins in the trenches, they should get out with a win.
Concordia (4-3) at Carroll (5-2)
Prediction: Carroll wins 42-20
Coming off a loss to Homestead in which the defense gave up a number of record-breaking performances to Spartan players, the Chargers cannot lose their focus. Carroll has come into the Concordia game the week after a loss to Homestead each of the last four years. In that time, they’ve split the series evenly at 2 apiece and have even been outscored by the Cadets 101-82 in that time. Carroll can’t afford to lose this time around and will need to take control of this game early. Concordia’s offense has struggled recently, so as long as Jeff Becker (2,027 yds, 61% comp, 26 TD) and the Carroll offense can get off to a hot start, they should overwhelm the Cadets.
Homestead (6-1) at Wayne (1-6)
Prediction: Homestead wins 56-6
The Spartans have reached the home stretch of their SAC title run, which culminates in two road games. The first of two is against Wayne, who has allowed more than 4 touchdowns in all their games. QB Evan Ormsby has now entered, and to an extent passed Luke Goode territory with 1,030 yards, 16 touchdowns, and completion percentage well above 70% in his last three games. Sparty should have no trouble following up what they did last weekend with another stellar offensive performance. Combine that with their tenacious defense led by the conference’s tackles leader Luke Palmer, with 73 total tackles, and Homestead should have no problem handling Wayne.
North Side (3-4) at Northrop (3-4)
Prediction: North Side wins 41-13
North Side QB Duce Taylor is currently averaging 300 yards a game by himself. It’s no wonder that the Legends blow the rest of the conference out of the water when it comes to total yards. North Side has 3,345 on the year and averages 478 per game, good for third in the state. The next closest SAC team is Homestead, which has 2,664 yards and averages 381 per game. These are some crazy numbers that Northrop will be tasked with limiting in Friday’s meeting. On the other side, the Legends will try to slow down Northrop’s Damarius Cowen who has eaten up yards on the ground, surpassing 1,000 on the year. If the North Side can keep Cowen from making an impact, their offense should get the job done and give the team a comfortable win.
Bishop Luers (2-5) at South Side (1-6)
Prediction: Luers wins 27-19
While these two teams haven’t been great recently, it’s interesting to note that Luers hasn’t lost to South Side since 2013, making it 6 straight wins for the Knights over the Archers. Luers has found their groove on offense and is led by QB Carson Clark has thrown for 1,421 yards and 10 touchdowns this year. His continued improvement has shown that the program is headed in the right direction and a win over South Side to make it three wins on the year would mark improvement from last year. With South Side still struggling on offense, Luers wins on the road.
