Football Preview: Fitzgerald Purple Hurricane vs. Northeast Raiders
Fitzgerald is 3-0 against Northeast since December of 2020, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Fitzgerald Purple Hurricane will face off against the Northeast Raiders at 7:00 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both will really light up the scoreboard.
Fitzgerald is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They managed a 42-38 win over Worth County. The victory was familiar territory for the Purple Hurricane who have now won four matchups in a row.
Meanwhile, Northeast has relied on a stalwart defense averaging 14.77 points allowed per game, but that average took a hit on Friday. They walked away with a 48-39 win over Fannin County. The Raiders' offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.
Nick Woodford continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 374 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 10.7 yards per carry. He is on a roll when it comes to rushing touchdowns, as he's now punched in two or more in the last six games he's played. Another player making a difference was Reginald Glover, who rushed for 42 yards and a touchdown.
Northeast was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 430 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in September.
Fitzgerald is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven games, which provided a nice bump to their 10-3 record this season. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 33.4 points per game. As for Northeast, they pushed their record up to 11-2 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road.
Fitzgerald was able to grind out a solid win over Northeast in their previous matchup back in September of 2023, winning 28-20. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Woodford, who rushed for 219 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 9.1 yards per carry, and also threw for 15 yards and a touchdown. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Fitzgerald still be able to contain Woodford? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
