Football Game Preview: Tuscola Mountaineers vs. East Burke Cavaliers + Official Tickets

Two dominant backs in Sam Trantham and Ossie Burkeen are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Tuscola Mountaineers will challenge the East Burke Cavaliers at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.

Tuscola will roll into the contest after a wild two-game stretch: they only put up three points two weeks ago, then bounced right back against East Henderson on Friday. The Mountaineers never let the Eagles get on the board and left with a 46-0 win. The victory was some much needed relief for the Mountaineers as it spelled an end to their three-game losing streak.

John Hansen

Receiving Yards (Career)

10/31/25 @ East Henderson	85
11/15/24 @ Hickory	28
08/22/25 @ Robbinsville	21
09/19/25 vs West Henderson	18
08/29/25 @ Cherokee	11

Tuscola's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was John Hansen, who picked up 85 receiving yards and one touchdown, and also punched in one score on the ground. Those 85 receiving yards gave Hansen a new career-high. Elijah Pruitt also helped with two TDs in total.

Tuscola was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 258 rushing yards. They are 4-1 when they've run for more than 200 yards.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask East Burke). They blew past Draughn 62-8 on Friday. The team's explosion on offense also rewarded the Cavaliers with their most commanding win of the season.

East Burke's victory bumped their record up to 4-6. As for Tuscola, the win got them back to even at 5-5.

Friday's matchup might be decided on the ground. Tuscola has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 171.2 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like East Burke struggles in that department as they've been averaging 189.2 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's game turns into a tough fight on the ground. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more football content.