The Ida Baker Bulldogs will head out on the road to face off against the Island Coast Gators at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams have had a bumpy ride up to this point with four consecutive losses for Ida Baker and nine for Island Coast.

On Thursday, Ida Baker was beaten by Mariner 48-12.

Despite the loss, Ida Baker had strong showings from Caelum Cragin, who picked up 79 receiving yards and one score, and Brody Root, who threw for 89 yards and one TD.

Meanwhile, Thursday just wasn’t the day for Island Coast’s offense. They were dealt a 49-0 defeat at the hands of Estero on Thursday. The shutout was out of character for the Gators seeing as the last time the team failed to score was back in September.

Ida Baker’s loss dropped their record down to 3-6. As for Island Coast, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-9.

Thursday’s contest might be decided in the trenches. Ida Baker has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 178.9 rushing yards per game. It’s a different story for Island Coast, though, as they’ve been averaging only 76.1 rushing yards. How will they fare against such a dominant running game?

Ida Baker ended up a good deal behind Island Coast when the teams last played back in November of 2024, losing 34-20. Thankfully for the Bulldogs, Gervaris Leaphart (who rushed for 190 yards and four touchdowns on only 14 carries) won’t be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.

Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps