Football Preview: Appalachian Eagles vs. Ragland Purple Devils
Two dominant backs in Braden Gilliland and A'Ron Lee are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Appalachian Eagles will be playing at home against the Ragland Purple Devils at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Appalachian is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 30.6 points per game this season.
Appalachian is probably headed into the contest with a chip on their shoulder considering Spring Garden just ended the team's three-game winning streak on Friday. They came up short against the Panthers, falling 46-21. The Eagles have struggled against the Panthers recently, as their game on Friday was their fifth consecutive lost matchup.
Despite the loss, Appalachian got top-tier performance from Gilliland, who rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown. Gilliland's rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his eighth straight game with at least 101 rushing yards dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Ragland waltzed into their game on Friday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They came out on top against the Tigers by a score of 20-7.
Lee was his usual excellent self, rushing for 217 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 10.3 yards per carry. He showed off some serious burst, turning on the afterburners on one carry for 54 yards. Ethan Everett did his part to keep the secondary busy, picking up 81 receiving yards.
Ragland was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 230 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 230 rushing yards in three consecutive matches.
Ragland didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Lee and Jagger Cox.
Appalachian's defeat ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 5-2. As for Ragland, the victory got them back to even at 3-3.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Appalachian has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 284.7 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Ragland struggles in that department as they've been averaging 204.2. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Appalachian didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Ragland when the teams last played back in October of 2019, but they still walked away with a 20-14 win. Will Appalachian repeat their success, or does Ragland have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
