The Pender Patriots will take on the East Duplin Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Pender sitting on eight straight wins and East Duplin on three.
On Friday, Pender humbled South Lenoir with a 44-12 victory. The result was nothing new for the Patriots, who have now won four games by 22 points or more so far this season.
Zeke Williams
| 10/17/25 @ South Lenoir | 152 |
| 09/19/25 @ South Columbus | 142 |
| 08/29/25 vs Red Springs | 130 |
| 10/03/25 vs Clinton | 121 |
| 08/22/25 @ West Bladen | 113 |
This one was won in the trenches and the lion's share of the credit has to go to ZyQuan Murphy and Zeke Williams. Murphy gained 182 total yards and two touchdowns while Williams rushed for 152 yards and one touchdown on only six carries. Those 152 rushing yards gave Williams a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Austin Deal, who threw for 101 yards and one TD on only five passes.
Pender was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 443 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 317 rushing yards every time they've taken the field this season.
Meanwhile, East Duplin earned a 20-13 victory over Clinton on Friday. Given the Panthers' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 123rd, while the Dark Horses are ranked 251st) , the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
East Duplin's win came from a few key players Pender will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Aaron Hall, who picked up 80 receiving yards and one score, and also rushed for 55 yards. Dwayne Davis was another key player, rushing for 58 yards and one touchdown.
East Duplin didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Zachary Ball, Bryson Brown, and Davis picked up one apiece.
Pender's win bumped their record up to 8-0. As for East Duplin, their victory bumped their record up to 6-2.
Friday's contest might be decided on the ground. Pender has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 449 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like East Duplin struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 244.5 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's matchup turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Pender came up short against East Duplin when the teams last played back in September of 2021, falling 48-44. Can the Patriots avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
