Football Game Preview: Alexander Central Cougars vs. St. Stephens Indians

Alexander Central has gone a perfect 4-0 against St. Stephens recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. After each having a week off, the two teams will shake off the rust and duke it out at 7:30 p.m. Alexander Central has given up an average of 37.4 points per game this season, but Friday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.

Alexander Central is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They fell 48-44 to South Iredell last Friday. The Cougars were up 28-12 in the second quarter but couldn't hold on to the lead.

Sawyer Chapman-Mays

Rushing Yards

09/19/25 vs South Iredell	132
09/12/25 @ Statesville	40
09/05/25 vs Ashe County	179
08/29/25 @ Hickory	107
08/22/25 vs Newton-Conover	44

Despite their defeat, Alexander Central saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Sawyer Chapman-Mays, who rushed for 132 yards and one TD, was perhaps the best of all. With that strong performance, Chapman-Mays is now averaging an impressive 100.4 rushing yards per game. Speaking of playmakers, who could forget Jaquis Parks, who went all the way with a kickoff return for a touchdown.

Meanwhile, St. Stephens came up short against Mount Airy last Friday and fell 36-28. While losing is never fun, the Indians can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 222nd, while the Granite Bears are ranked 71st).

This is the second loss in a row for Alexander Central and nudges their season record down to 1-4. Those losses can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 29.0 points over those games. As for St. Stephens, they now have a losing record of 2-3.

Alexander Central was able to grind out a solid victory over St. Stephens in their previous meeting back in March of 2021, winning 35-28. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was the Indians' Zane Mcpherson, who threw for 183 yards and three touchdowns, and also punched in one score on the ground. Now that he won't be playing on Friday, will it be easier for the Cougars to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.