Football Game Preview: East Surry Cardinals vs. West Stokes Wildcats

The East Surry Cardinals are taking a road trip to face off against the West Stokes Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (East Surry has three straight wins, West Stokes has five straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

On Friday, East Surry was able to grind out a solid victory over North Surry, taking the game 20-8.

It was another big night for Nathan Kiger, who rushed for 180 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 9.5 yards per carry. He is becoming a predictor of East Surry's success: when he posts at least two rushing touchdowns the team is undefeated (and 0-4 when he doesn't).

They were just one part of a punishing run game: East Surry was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 265 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 257 rushing yards in four consecutive contests.

Dakota Buntin

Total Tackles

09/05/25 @ Murphy	1
09/19/25 vs North Forsyth	1
10/03/25 vs Surry Central	2
09/12/25 @ Walkertown	3
10/10/25 @ North Surry	7

East Surry didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Aidan Harpe and Dakota Buntin. Buntin also set a new season-high mark in total tackles with seven.

Meanwhile, West Stokes played a tough matchup on Friday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They had to suffer through a 37-3 loss at the hands of Mount Airy. While losing is never fun, the Wildcats can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 305th, while the Granite Bears are ranked 71st).

East Surry picked up their first road win, bumping their record up to 3-4. As for West Stokes, their loss dropped their record down to 1-6.

East Surry ended up a good deal behind West Stokes when the teams last played back in November of 2024, losing 35-21. Thankfully for the Cardinals, Lindann Fleming (who rushed for 207 yards and three TDs while picking up 9.0 yards per carry) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.