Football Preview: Appalachian Eagles vs. Valley Head Tigers
Appalachian is 0-4 against Valley Head since October of 2020 but things could change on Friday. The Appalachian Eagles will host the Valley Head Tigers at 7:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Appalachian's defense heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They blew past Woodville 42-0 on the road. That looming 42-0 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Eagles yet this season.
It was another big night for Braden Gilliland, who rushed for 108 yards and a touchdown. His rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his tenth straight game with at least 101 rushing yards dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Valley Head). They breezed by Woodville at home to the tune of 53-0 two weeks ago. The high-flying offensive performance was a huge turnaround for the Tigers considering their seven-point performance the matchup before.
Valley Head got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Cayson McElrath out in front who rushed for 98 yards and two touchdowns, and also picked up 53 receiving yards and a touchdown. Another player making a difference was Tytan Blevins, who rushed for 133 yards and two touchdowns on only 11 carries.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Valley Head was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 358 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 157 rushing yards in 16 consecutive games dating back to last season.
Valley Head didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Ben Johnson, McElrath, and Seth Hall picked up one apiece. What's more, Johnson also racked up 80 rushing yards, the mosthe's had since back in August.
Appalachian is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a nice bump to their 7-2 record this season. As for Valley Head, their win bumped their record up to 6-2.
Appalachian was taken down by Valley Head 37-8 in their previous meeting back in October of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Blevins, who rushed for 205 yards and five touchdowns while picking up 9.8 yards per carry. Now that Appalachian knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
