Preview: St. Stephens Indians vs. Foard Tigers
The St. Stephens Indians will head out on the road to face off against the Foard Tigers at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Both teams have had a bumpy ride up to this point with ten consecutive losses dating back to last season for St. Stephens and 19 for Foard dating back to last season.
Last Thursday, St. Stephens took a serious blow against Statesville, falling 48-10. While losing is never fun, St. Stephens can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 313th, while Statesville is ranked 86th).
Ty Mclauchlin put forth a good effort for the losing side as he gained 123 total yards and a touchdown.
Meanwhile, Foard was beaten by Hickory 61-14 last Thursday.
Despite the loss, Foard had strong showings from Deontae Mcilwain, who rushed for 114 yards and a touchdown, and Chris Mazo, who rushed for 67 yards and a touchdown.
St. Stephens' loss was their tenth straight at home (dating back to last season), which dropped their overall record down to 0-9. Admittedly, the team was facing some tough opposition over that stretch, including 9-0 Hickory and 9-0 Bunker Hill (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 73.7% over those games). As for Foard, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-9.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's match: St. Stephens has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 161.3 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Foard struggles in that department as they've been averaging 156.6 per game. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Everything came up roses for St. Stephens against Foard when the teams last played back in October of 2022 as the squad secured a 50-21 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for St. Stephens since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
