Football Game Preview: Bunker Hill Bears vs. Newton-Conover Red Devils

The Bunker Hill Bears will head out on the road to challenge the Newton-Conover Red Devils at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Bunker Hill's offense hasn't had much luck over their past four contests, but Friday's matchup will give them a chance to turn things around.

Bunker Hill's offense might be in the hot seat on Friday considering what happened against East Lincoln last Friday. They were dealt a 57-0 defeat at the hands of the Mustangs. While losing is never fun, the Bears can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 260th, while the Mustangs are ranked 20th).

Meanwhile, Newton-Conover made easy work of North Lincoln on Friday and carried off a 42-22 victory. The Red Devils pushed the score to 35-14 by the end of the third, a deficit the Knights cut but never quite recovered from.

Bunker Hill better keep an eye on Timothy Mehalic. He was instrumental in Newton-Conover's win, picking up 115 receiving yards and one score. Mehalic also put in work on the defensive side of the ball, making five total tackles and defending one pass in addition to snagging an interception.

Newton-Conover was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 242 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 169 rushing yards in seven consecutive games dating back to last season.

Newton-Conover didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Mehalic and Kenyan Miller.

Newton-Conover's record now sits at 4-2. As for Bunker Hill, their loss dropped their record down to 1-5.

Bunker Hill won a matchup that couldn't have been any closer when the teams last played back in October of 2024, slipping by Newton-Conover 38-37. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Bears since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.