Preview: Prince George Royals vs. Hopewell Blue Devils
Prince George has enjoyed the comforts of home their last two games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will face off against The Hopewell Blue Devils at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Prince George will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Virginia Rankings (they are ranked 181st, while Hopewell is ranked 47th).
Prince George fell victim to Matoaca's stalwart defense on Friday and couldn't make it onto the board. They were dealt a 45-0 defeat at the hands of the Warriors. The last quarter was a mere formality, since the game's final score was reached by the end of the third quarter.
Meanwhile, Hopewell might've scored the first points on Friday, but it was Thomas Dale who claimed the real prize. Hopewell fell to Thomas Dale 28-24.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Mic'kahari Tatum, who threw for 177 yards and two touchdowns on only 14 passes. Another player making a difference was Raphell Dabney, who picked up 107 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Prince George's loss was their eighth straight at home (dating back to last season), which dropped their overall record down to 2-7. Admittedly, the team was facing some tough opposition over that stretch, including 15-0 Dinwiddie and 7-2 Glen Allen (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 64.5% over those games). As for Hopewell, their loss dropped their record down to 6-3.
Prince George was dealt a bruising 56-8 defeat at the hands of Hopewell when the teams last played back in November of 2022. Can Prince George avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
