The Croatan Cougars will face off against the Northside - Jacksonville Monarchs at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Croatan sitting on six straight victories and Northside - Jacksonville on three.
Croatan will bounce into Friday's contest after beating Havelock, who they had gone 0-3 against in their three prior meetings. The Cougars walked away with a 14-7 win over the Rams on Friday. The 14-point effort marked the Cougars' lowest-scoring game of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.
Croatan's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Andrew Boucher, who rushed for 96 yards and one touchdown, and also picked up 42 receiving yards.
Croatan's defense stepped up as well, laying out the QB four times. Ethan DeMercurio was particularly dangerous to the passing game, picking up three sacks himself.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Northside - Jacksonville). They blew past Richlands, posting a 43-3 victory. The matchup was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 27-3.
Croatan better focus on containing GAVYN DAVIS and RAHLAI ANDERSON as the pair were huge in Northside - Jacksonville's win. DAVIS gained 146 total yards and two touchdowns, while ANDERSON rushed for 112 yards and a pair of TDs.all of that, rushing production came thanks to one massive run Another passer making a difference was REGINALD GRAY, who threw for 228 yards and two touchdowns on only 16 passes.
Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something Northside - Jacksonville proved: they limited Richlands to a paltry 1.5 yards per carry. The team can thank ANOOP MONROE for the heroic effort on defense: he. Northside - Jacksonville didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 5.9.
Northside - Jacksonville didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of ERIC PATRICK and MATTHEW SMOOT.
Croatan's win bumped their record up to 6-0. As for Northside - Jacksonville, their victory bumped their record up to 4-1.
Friday's contest might be decided on the ground. Croatan has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 164.5 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Northside - Jacksonville struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 153.2 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's game turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Croatan was dealt a bruising 35-0 loss at the hands of Northside - Jacksonville in their previous meeting back in October of 2016. Thankfully for the Cougars, Jonte Mcmullen (who rushed for 116 yards and one score on only nine carries, and also threw for 107 yards and a pair of TDs) 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.
