Football Game Preview: Grove City Eagles vs. Hickory Hornets

Grove City is 2-8 against Hickory since September of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Eagles will host the Hornets at 7:00 p.m. That contest will pit two of the most dominant backs against one another: Gavin Purdy and Kelvin Morrison.

On Friday, Grove City came up short against Sharon and fell 23-14.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Hickory, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Friday. They claimed a resounding 48-10 win over Titusville. With the Hornets ahead 34-0 at the half, the game was all but over already.

Hickory found their leader in sophomore Morrison, who rushed for 140 yards and three touchdowns on only eight carries, and also caught one TD. Speaking of playmakers, who could forget Marzair Gardlock, who went all the way with a kickoff return for a touchdown.

Hickory's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 6-1. As for Grove City, their defeat was their first in the conference, dropping their conference record down to 2-1 and their overall record down to 4-3.

Grove City was taken down by Hickory 69-6 when the teams last played back in October of 2024. That matchup was all but decided by halftime, at which point the Eagles were down 63-0.