Football Preview: Lapel Bulldogs vs. Eastern Hancock Royals
Lapel is 8-2 against Eastern Hancock since October of 2016, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Lapel Bulldogs are taking a road trip to square off against the Eastern Hancock Royals at 7:00 p.m. Lapel is looking to tack on another W to their four-game streak on the road.
Having struggled with three defeats in a row, Lapel finally turned things around against Jay County on Friday. They narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past the Patriots 14-12.
The critical scores for Lapel came from Devin Craig and Jaxon Cripe.
Lapel wouldn't let Jay County keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force three fumbles. It was truly a group effort as Will Gilbert, Karson Kinsinger, and Isaiah Young picked up one apiece. Young is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made five or more in the last 15 games he's played dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Eastern Hancock humbled Shenandoah with a 41-7 victory. With the Royals ahead 20-0 at the half, the contest was all but over already.
It was another big night for Mark Kube, who rushed for 121 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 7.6 yards per carry. That's the most rushing yards he has posted since back in August.
On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Eastern Hancock's defense and their five sacks. Brennon Trueblood was particularly dangerous to the passing game, picking up twohimself. He also made five total tackles, which is notable because Eastern Hancock is undefeated when he posts at least four total tackles, but 2-3 otherwise.
Lapel's victory bumped their record up to 5-3. As for Eastern Hancock, the win made it two in a row for them and also bumps their season record up to 5-3.
We should be in store for an exciting game as both have no problem gaining yardage. Lapel has been on an offensive roll this season, having averaged 364 total yards per game. However, it's not like Eastern Hancock struggles in that department as they've been averaging 433.9. With a pair of commanding offenses duking it out, the defenses are going to have their work cut out for them.
Lapel couldn't quite finish off Eastern Hancock when the teams last played back in October of 2023 and fell 45-43. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Kube, who rushed for 228 yards and five touchdowns. Now that Lapel knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
