Football Preview: Union Academy Cardinals vs. Albemarle Bulldogs
The Union Academy Cardinals will be playing in front of their home fans against the Albemarle Bulldogs at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The timing is sure in Union Academy's favor as the team sits on three straight wins at home while Albemarle has been banged up by three consecutive losses on the road.
Union Academy will head into Friday's game on the come-up: they were handed a 22-point loss in their previous outing, but they didn't let that bad energy affect their game against Lake Norman Charter on Friday. Union Academy narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past Lake Norman Charter 13-10. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Cardinals have posted since October 27, 2023.
Most of the squad's points came courtesy of special teams, who contributed seven in total. Elijah Shine launched a 47-yard bomb between the uprights, which ended up accounting for the difference in the matchup.
Union Academy didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Breshen Bennett and JT Hemphill.
Meanwhile, a win for Albemarle just wasn't in the cards on Friday as the team wasn't able to take the lead at any point. They came up short against Mount Pleasant, falling 30-8. While losing is never fun, the Bulldogs can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 298th, while the Tigers are ranked 136th).
Defeat or not, Albemarle got some senior leadership from Zyion Geiger and Dre Davis. Geiger picked up 128 receiving yards and a touchdown, while Davis threw for 171 yards and a touchdown.
Union Academy's victory bumped their record up to 5-3. As for Albemarle, their loss dropped their record down to 2-6.
Friday's contest might be decided in the on the ground. Union Academy has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 176.2 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Albemarle struggles in that department as they've been averaging 153. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Union Academy was dealt a bruising 38-6 defeat at the hands of Albemarle in their previous meeting back in October of 2023. Will Union Academy have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other football content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
