Football Game Preview: Topsail Pirates vs. New Hanover Wildcats

Topsail is 1-9 against New Hanover since September of 2017 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Pirates will challenge the Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this contest.

Topsail's offense might be in the hot seat on Friday considering what happened against West Brunswick last Friday. They lost 21-0 to the Trojans. The game was a 0-0 toss-up at halftime, but the Pirates couldn't quite close it out.

The home team had won the previous five meetings between New Hanover and Laney, and Laney kept the tradition alive. The Wildcats took a 33-28 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Buccaneers on Friday.

Topsail will have to contain Tanahri Johnson as he made an impact in New Hanover's last game. He rushed for 20 yards and two scores, and also threw for 194 yards and one touchdown. Johnson is becoming a predictor of New Hanover's success: when he posts at least two rushing touchdowns the team is 2-1 (and 2-4 when he doesn't). Tony Clark-Nelson helped out on the ground, rushing for 82 yards.

New Hanover now has a losing record of 4-5. As for Topsail, their loss dropped their record down to 0-9.

Topsail might still be hurting after the 21-0 defeat they got from New Hanover when the teams last played back in September of 2024. Thankfully for the Pirates, Jacob Monroe (who threw for 288 yards and one TD while completing 75% of his passes, and also punched in one score on the ground) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.