Football Preview: Hickory Red Tornadoes vs. East Lincoln Mustangs
The Hickory Red Tornadoes will challenge the East Lincoln Mustangs at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are still undefeated (Hickory has 19 wins dating back to last season, while East Lincoln has three).
Last Thursday, Hickory took their contest at home with ease, bagging a 69-27 win over Cox Mill. Given the Red Tornadoes' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 12th, while the Chargers are ranked 149th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Isaiah Lackey went supernova for Hickory, rushing for 160 yards and five touchdowns. Lackey is on a roll when it comes to rushing touchdowns, as he's now punched in two or more in the last four games he's played dating back to last season. Ellis Chappell did his part to keep the secondary busy, picking up 159 receiving yards.
Meanwhile, East Lincoln won against Lincolnton last Friday with 52 points and they decided to stick to that point total again on Thursday. Everything went East Lincoln's way against Forestview as East Lincoln made off with a 52-26 victory. Fans of the Mustangs have seen this all before: every one of the games they've played this season has ended in a blowout of 20+ point.
Grant Lawless was a one-man wrecking crew for East Lincoln as he threw for 292 yards and four touchdowns, and also rushed for 62 yards and a touchdown on only five carries. The dominant performance gave Lawless a new career-high in rushing yards. Christopher Daley Ii was another key player, rushing for 96 yards and a touchdown on only 12 carries.
East Lincoln wouldn't let Forestview keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. East Lincoln can thank Brody Hager and Messiah Thompson for forcing both of them.
Hickory's win was their 12th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 3-0. As for East Lincoln, their record is now 3-0.
Hickory took their victory against East Lincoln in their previous matchup back in September of 2023 by a conclusive 49-28. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Lawless, who threw for 127 yards and three touchdowns. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Hickory still be able to contain Lawless? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
