Football Game Preview: Chapel Hill Tigers vs. Riverside-Durham Pirates + How To Watch

The Chapel Hill Tigers will venture away from home to challenge the Riverside-Durham Pirates at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.

As a matter of fact, Chapel Hill put up the most points they have all season on Thursday. They breezed past Northern Durham to the tune of 48-14. The victory continues a trend for the Tigers in their matchups with the Knights: they've now won six in a row.

Samuel Zimmermann

Rushing Touchdowns (Career)

10/16/25 vs Northern Durham	2
10/03/25 @ East Chapel Hill	1
08/29/25 @ Orange	1
10/10/24 vs Riverside-Durham	1

Samuel Zimmermann was a one-man wrecking crew as he rushed for 48 yards and a pair of scores, and also threw for 111 yards and two touchdowns. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in rushing touchdowns (two). Another player making a difference was Dominic Miller, who rushed for 59 yards and one TD.

They were just one part of a punishing run game: Chapel Hill was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 249 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.

Chapel Hill didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Izayeha Brown and Deuce Geer.

Riverside-Durham not only won on Friday, but they posted their biggest win since September 20, 2024 (when they won 53-13). They claimed a resounding 45-7 win over East Chapel Hill.

Chapel Hill better focus on containing Jesiah Johnson and Leighton Lascallette as the pair were huge in Riverside-Durham's win. Johnson threw for 364 yards and five touchdowns on only 19 passes, while Lascallette picked up 212 receiving yards and three scores. Lascallette's longest reception was for an impressive 60 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per catch total.

Riverside-Durham's first victory this season bumped their record up to 1-7. As for Chapel Hill, their record now sits at 5-3.

Everything came up roses for Chapel Hill against Riverside-Durham when the teams last played back in October of 2024, as the squad secured a 54-14 win. In that contest, the Tigers amassed a halftime lead of 33-6, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.