Preview: Draughn Wildcats vs. Mountain Heritage Cougars
Draughn has enjoyed the comforts of home their last two games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will square off against The Mountain Heritage Cougars at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Draughn has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 374 points over their last eight matchups.
Draughn can now show off five landslide victories after their most recent matchup two weeks ago. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Rosman 56-12 at home. Draughn pushed the score to 49-6 by the end of the third, a deficit Rosman had no chance of recovering from.
It was another big night for Nigel Dula, who rushed for 160 yards and four touchdowns on only 13 carries. Dula is on a roll when it comes to rushing yards, as he's now rushed for 100 or more in the last nine games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Eli Tillery, who threw for 225 yards and three touchdowns while completing 81.8% of his passes.
Meanwhile, Mountain Heritage had already won five in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 24.8 points), and they went ahead and made it six on Friday. They breezed by Madison on the road to the tune of 42-14. The matchup was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 21-0.
Brandon Quinn continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 129 yards and three touchdowns on only eight carries, while also throwing for 19 yards and a touchdown. Quinn was no stranger to the big play, turning on the jets for a run that went for 56 yards.
Draughn's win was their eighth straight at home, bumping their overall record up to 8-1. That said, the team wasn't facing the toughest opposition over that stretch, as it included 0-9 Patton and 1-9 Rosman (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 31.8% over those games). As for Mountain Heritage, their win bumped their record up to 7-2.
We should be in store for an exciting game Friday as the two teams have no problem gaining yardage. Draughn has been on an offensive roll this season, having averaged 427.7 total yards per game. However, it's not like Mountain Heritage struggles in that department as they've been averaging 355.6 per game. With a pair of commanding offenses duking it out, the defenses are going to have their work cut out for them.
Everything came up roses for Draughn against Mountain Heritage in their previous matchup back in October of 2022 as the squad secured a 49-21 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Draughn since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
