Football Preview: Mooresville Blue Devils vs. Hickory Ridge Ragin' Bulls
The Mooresville Blue Devils will take on the Hickory Ridge Ragin' Bulls at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Mooresville will be strutting in after a victory while Hickory Ridge will be coming in after a loss.
Mooresville's defense heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They took their game on the road with ease, bagging a 55-0 win over Cox Mill. The Blue Devils might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won three matches by 46 points or more this season.
Mooresville's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Malachi Gwyn, who rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown on only six carries. The team also got some help courtesy of Brody Norman, who threw for 199 yards and two touchdowns on only 18 passes.
Mooresville's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged four passes before it was all said and done. It was truly a group effort as Kamelo Little, AJ Graham, Darian Reid, and Reid picked up one apiece. Graham is also on a roll when it comes to interceptions, as he's now snagged at least one in the last three games he's played dating back to last season.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Mooresville 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 165 rushing yards in four consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Hickory Ridge was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their sixth straight defeat dating back to last season. They received a blow as they fell 31-14 to A.L. Brown. The matchup was a 7-7 toss-up at halftime, but the Ragin' Bulls couldn't quite close it out.
Hickory Ridge's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of David Johnson, who rushed for 80 yards and a touchdown, and Joell Wooten, who picked up 109 receiving yards. The dominant performance gave Johnson a new career-high in rushing yards. Ezekiel Kelly got in on the action too, returning a kick for a touchdown.
Mooresville's win bumped their record up to 3-1. As for Hickory Ridge, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-5.
Friday's game might be decided in the trenches. Mooresville has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 240 rushing yards per game. It's a different story for Hickory Ridge, though, as they've been averaging only 66. How will they fare against such a dominant running game?
Mooresville was able to grind out a solid victory over Hickory Ridge in their previous meeting back in September of 2023, winning 42-35. Does Mooresville have another victory up their sleeve, or will Hickory Ridge turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
