Football Preview: East Mecklenburg Eagles vs. Butler Bulldogs
East Mecklenburg hasn't had much luck against Butler recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The East Mecklenburg Eagles will face off against the Butler Bulldogs at 7:00 p.m. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Having struggled with nine losses in a row dating back to last season, East Mecklenburg finally turned things around against Garinger on Monday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat the Wildcats 35-0 at home. The Eagles' offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.
Meanwhile, Butler strolled past Providence with points to spare on Saturday, taking the game 28-10. Given the Bulldogs' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 33rd, while the Panthers are ranked 87th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Butler got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Damorian Thomas-Wright out in front who rushed for 110 yards and a touchdown. Thomas-Wright really tore up the turf during one magnificent 72-yard run. The team also got some help courtesy of Zach Lawrence, who threw for 189 yards and two touchdowns on only 16 passes.
Another reason for the win was Butler's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for eight sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Ian Coleman and Jayden Farmer, who racked up four sacks between them. Farmer also sacked two sacks, which is notable because Butler is 2-1 when he posts at least two sacks, but 0-3 otherwise. Butler got some further help from Jordan Pate: he picked up a sack and made 12 total tackles (3.0 for loss).
Butler was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 233 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in November of 2023.
East Mecklenburg's first victory this season bumped their record up to 1-5. As for Butler, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 2-4.
East Mecklenburg was dealt a bruising 58-0 defeat at the hands of Butler when the teams last played back in September of 2023. Can East Mecklenburg avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
