Preview: Madison Patriots vs. Mountain Heritage Cougars
Madison is 0-9 against Mountain Heritage since November of 2014 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Madison Patriots will be playing in front of their home fans against the Mountain Heritage Cougars at 7:30 p.m. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
After only seven points in their last match, Madison made sure to put some points up on the board against Avery County on Friday. Madison strolled past Avery County with points to spare, taking the game 40-21.
Madison's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Dallas Bartlett, who rushed for 59 yards and three touchdowns, and Levi Shelton, who rushed for 231 yards and three touchdowns. Shelton was no stranger to the big play, turning on the jets for a run that went for 52 yards.
Meanwhile, Mountain Heritage had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 27.5 points), and they went ahead and made it five on Friday. They took down Mitchell 28-14.
Brandon Quinn continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 242 yards and a touchdown while picking up 8.3 yards per carry, and also throwing for 18 yards and a touchdown. Quinn is on a roll when it comes to rushing yards, as he's now rushed for 100 or more in the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Cason Jones, who gained 68 total yards and three touchdowns.
Madison's victory on Friday bumped their record up to 2-6. Mountain Heritage has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven matches, which provided a nice bump to their 6-2 record this season.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's match: Madison has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 163.2 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Mountain Heritage struggles in that department as they've been even better at 296.2 per game. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Madison ended up a good deal behind Mountain Heritage in their previous matchup back in October of 2022, losing 35-20. Will Madison have more luck at home instead of on the road?
