The Palisades Pumas will head out to take on the South Mecklenburg Sabres at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Palisades will be strutting in after a win while South Mecklenburg will be coming in after a defeat.
On Thursday, Palisades was fully in charge, breezing past East Mecklenburg 42-6. The result was nothing new for the Pumas, who have now won five matchups by 26 points or more so far this season.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Palisades to victory, but perhaps none more so than Lincoln Wise, who rushed for 101 yards on only six carries, and also picked up 40 receiving yards and one touchdown. Jamari Glover helped out on the ground, rushing for 80 yards and a rushing touchdown.
Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something Palisades proved: they limited East Mecklenburg to a paltry 0.9 yards per carry. While one picked up at least five total tackles, Clarence Drakeford stood above the rest. He made five total tackles and defended one pass in addition to snagging an interception which he returned for a touchdown. Palisades didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 13.1.
Clarence Drakeford
| 10/30/25 @ East Mecklenburg | 5 |
| 10/24/25 @ Rocky River | 6 |
| 10/17/25 vs Providence | 6 |
| 10/10/25 vs Ballantyne Ridge | 6 |
| 10/03/25 @ Ardrey Kell | 11 |
| + 5 more games |
Palisades didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Drakeford, Jaydin Clarke, and Nick Rankin picked up one apiece. Drakeford is also crushing it when it comes to total tackles: he's made at least five every time he's taken the field this season. He got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.
Meanwhile, South Mecklenburg lost 40-14 to Myers Park on Thursday. While losing is never fun, the Sabres can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 60th, while the Mustangs are ranked 11th).
Palisades has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 7-3 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 38.8 points over those games. As for South Mecklenburg, their loss dropped their record down to 7-3.
We should be in store for an exciting game as Palisades and South Mecklenburg have no problem gaining yardage. The Pumas have been on an offensive roll this season, having averaged 398.7 total yards per game. However, it's not like South Mecklenburg struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 360.4 total yards. With a pair of commanding offenses duking it out, the defenses are going to have their work cut out for them.
Palisades didn't have too much breathing room in their game against South Mecklenburg in their previous meeting back in October of 2024, but they still walked away with an 18-14 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Pumas since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
