Battle Ground Academy looks to improve to 3-0 this week with a matchup against St. Benedict, and Grace Christian Academy looks to rebound from its Week 2 loss with a home contest against Cornersville.
See below for a closer look at those matchups:
St. Benedict (0-2) at Battle Ground Academy (2-0), 7 p.m. Friday
It may have taken an extra day, but the Battle Ground Academy Wildcats came out of Week 2 against Friendship Christian with their undefeated record still intact.
After the game was postponed Friday night before it could even get started, the Wildcats came out Saturday looking rested and ready. They took an early 21-0 lead and never looked back, winning easily 38-7.
“I felt like our kids came out with a really good focus,” BGA head coach Roc Batten said. “It’s never easy to have a rain game then turn around the next day on a Saturday with an unfamiliar schedule. I was pleased with our focus … that was exciting to see, and you wish you could see that every time.”
BGA was paced offensively against Friendship Christian by Kel Hawkins, who scored all three of the Wildcats’ touchdowns in the first quarter.
It seemed like every time he touched the ball he was going to score. He finished with five rushes for 84 yards and a touchdown and added two catches for 98 yards and two scores.
“He’s a really good athlete and a talented kid,” Batten said. “We just try to find ways to get him the ball, and he made some big plays for us. I’m really pleased with him and we anticipate him getting better every week.”
The Wildcats put their undefeated record on the line against the winless St. Benedict at Auburndale Eagles.
The biggest task for BGA is dealing with the size the Eagles present in the trenches.
“They are massive up front. This is a big, big team,” Batten said. “They’ve had some struggles in their first two games, but they played two really solid teams.”
The Eagles’ struggles in the first two weeks led to two straight 45-0 losses against Collierville and Germantown. They will hope to get their offense going against a BGA defense that has only given up 21 points so far this season.
While the BGA offense looked quite potent in Week 2, it may be even better in Week 3. Sophomore running back Jaylen Frierson, who led the team with 62 rushing yards on 12 attempts with a touchdown in Week 1, will be back in action after sitting out Saturday with an injury.
“We held him out last week, but he’s back this week,” Batten said. “We’re looking forward to him getting back going. That’s kind of football you get guys dinged and banged and another guy has to step in.”
With the way the Wildcats were able to score at ease at times against Friendship Christian, they should be chomping at the bit to get at an Eagle defense that has given up 90 points in two games.
Cornersville (0-2) at Grace Christian Academy (0-1), 7 p.m. Friday*
The season-opener for Grace Christian Academy looked promising on the first night. However, after a postponement that caused them to come back the next day, the Lions looked very different.
GCA held a commanding 27-13 lead at halftime Friday night when the game was postponed due to lightning. When it resumed the next day, McEwen came storming back and edged the Lions 34-33.
This week, GCA welcomes the winless Cornersville Bulldogs. The Bulldogs lost their first two games of the season by a combined four points.
The Lions will hope to take at least one positive aspect, their offensive play, away from the season-opening loss to McEwen.
Their offense will have to be disciplined and active against a Cornersville defense that has given up just 28 points in two games this season.
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