Football Preview: West Lincoln Rebels vs. Bandys Trojans
West Lincoln and Bandys are an even 5-5 against one another since October of 2014, but not for long. The West Lincoln Rebels will welcome the Bandys Trojans at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Friday, West Lincoln didn't have too much breathing room in their match against Foard, but they still walked away with a 27-21 victory. Given the Rebels' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 113th, while the Tigers are ranked 275th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
The critical scores for West Lincoln came from Jayce Rowe, Grae Ponder, and Keegan Bostic.
West Lincoln's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged three passes before it was all said and done. The picks came courtesy of Ponder and Parker Kelly.
Meanwhile, Bandys put another one in the bag on Thursday to keep their perfect season alive. They breezed by South Caldwell on the road to the tune of 35-6. The Trojans pushed the score to 28-6 by the end of the third, a deficit the Spartans had little chance of recovering from.
Brady Swett and Tanner Stewart were among the main playmakers for Bandys as the former threw for 221 yards and a touchdown on only 17 passes and the latter rushed for 126 yards and two touchdowns on only 15 carries. The dominant performance gave Stewart a new career-high in rushing yards.
West Lincoln now has a winning record of 2-1. As for Bandys, their win bumped their record up to 3-0.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the trenches. West Lincoln has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 285.3 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Bandys struggles in that department as they've been averaging 186.3. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
West Lincoln beat Bandys 36-28 in their previous meeting back in September of 2023. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Swett, who threw for 250 yards and three touchdowns, and also rushed for 97 yards and a touchdown on only eight carries. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will West Lincoln still be able to contain Swett? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
