Football Preview: North Lincoln Knights vs. Hickory Red Tornadoes
The North Lincoln Knights will face off against the Hickory Red Tornadoes at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as North Lincoln comes in on eight and Hickory on 29.
North Lincoln is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They came out on top against Ashbrook by a score of 20-10. The 20-point effort marked the Knights' lowest-scoring game of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.
North Lincoln's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Landen Agee led the charge by rushing for 95 yards and a touchdown on only ten carries. Backing up that air attack was Shannon Wingate, who rushed for 93 yards and a rushing touchdown.
North Lincoln was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 255 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 177 rushing yards in 23 consecutive contests dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Hickory faced Crest in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Friday. Hickory enjoyed a cozy 63-48 victory over Crest. The defensive woes were uncharacteristic for the Red Tornadoes, who until this matchup were averaging 13.15 points allowed.
Brady Stober continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, throwing for 478 yards and six touchdowns while completing 73.9% of his passes, and also rushing for 32 yards. Ellis Chappell also helped out as he racked up 159 receiving yards.
Hickory didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Brett Rowland. Another thorn in Crest's side was Carter Toney, who made 22 total tackles (2.0 for loss) and defended a pass.
North Lincoln pushed their record up to 12-1 with the win, which was their 12th straight at home dating back to last season. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 27.7 points. As for Hickory, their record now sits at 13-0.
Friday's match might be decided in the on the ground. North Lincoln has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 330.4 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Hickory struggles in that department as they've been averaging 174.7. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
North Lincoln was taken down by Hickory 60-25 in their previous matchup back in October. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Stober, who threw for 453 yards and five touchdowns while completing 92% of his passes. Now that North Lincoln knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
