Football Game Preview: Austin-East Roadrunners vs. Gatlinburg-Pittman Highlanders

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Previous Games

09/13/24 - Away	6-24 L
09/08/23 - Home	14-53 L
09/02/22 - Away	6-38 L
09/03/21 - Home	27-44 L
10/09/20 - Neutral	0-2 L
+ 5 more games

Austin-East and Gatlinburg-Pittman are an even 5-5 against one another since November of 2016, but not for long. The Roadrunners will host the Highlanders at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

As a matter of fact, Austin-East put up the most points they have all season on Friday. The contest between the Roadrunners and Sweetwater didn't end well, with the Roadrunners falling 47-33. The matchup was a 20-20 toss-up at halftime, but the Roadrunners couldn't quite close it out.

Austin-East might have lost, but man, Nymire Jackson was a machine: he threw for 472 yards and five touchdowns, and also rushed for 59 yards. Travis Burgins was Jackson's top target, picking up 96 receiving yards and a pair of TDs.

Meanwhile, Gatlinburg-Pittman strolled into their game on Friday with a perfect record and they left with the same. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat West Greene 49-7. The Highlanders might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five games by 27 points or more this season.

Gatlinburg-Pittman's win came from a few key players Austin-East will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Brayden Maples, who rushed for 71 yards and three scores on only ten carries. He is on a roll when it comes to rushing touchdowns, as he's now punched in two or more in each of the last four games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Tyson Sutton, who threw for 188 yards and a pair of touchdowns while completing 92.9% of his passes.

This is the second loss in a row for Austin-East and nudges their season record down to 1-5. As for Gatlinburg-Pittman, their win bumped their record up to 7-0.

Austin-East ended up a good deal behind Gatlinburg-Pittman in their previous matchup back in September of 2024, losing 24-6. Will the Roadrunners have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other football content.