Football Preview: South Granville Vikings vs. Riverside-Durham Pirates
Two dominant backs in Jamar Hicks and Jamarion Ross are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The South Granville Vikings and the Riverside-Durham Pirates are set to duel on Thursday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both will really light up the scoreboard.
South Granville is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They simply couldn't be stopped on Friday as they easily beat Wake Prep Academy 58-17. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest win of the season.
South Granville had a senior duo take command as Hicks rushed for 204 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 10.2 yards per carry and Jaydn McNeil rushed for 175 yards and three touchdowns on only 12 carries. The dominant performance gave Hicks a new career-high in rushing yards.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: South Granville was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 404 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
South Granville didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Evan Zollo, Jamari Ray, and Jaylin Williams picked up one apiece. Ray has been hot recently, having also posted six or more total tackles the last four times he's played.
Meanwhile, Riverside-Durham got the win against Northern Durham on Friday by a conclusive 35-14. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Pirates.
It was another big night for Ross, who rushed for 203 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 12.7 yards per carry. He was no stranger to the big play, turning on the jets for a run that went for 65 yards. The team also got some help courtesy of Tre Belcher, who threw for 203 yards and two touchdowns on only 17 passes.
The victory (which was South Granville's third in a row) raised their record to 4-5. As for Riverside-Durham, their win bumped their record up to an identical 4-5.
Thursday's contest might be decided in the on the ground. South Granville has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 203.1 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Riverside-Durham struggles in that department as they've been averaging 215.4. It's looking like Thursday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
South Granville didn't have too much breathing room in their matchup against Riverside-Durham in their previous matchup back in September of 2023, but they still walked away with a 20-14 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for South Granville since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
