Football Preview: Pinecrest Patriots vs. Richmond Raiders
Pinecrest is 2-8 against Richmond since October of 2014 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Pinecrest Patriots will host the Richmond Raiders at 7:00 p.m. Pinecrest is currently enjoying a perfect season and no doubt wants to keep things rolling.
Two weeks ago, Pinecrest needed a bit of extra time to put away New Hanover. They pulled ahead with a 28-27 photo finish over the Wildcats.
It was another big night for Zymire Spencer, who rushed for 138 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 8.1 yards per carry. He was no stranger to the big play, turning on the jets for a run that went for 66 yards.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Richmond). They took their matchup on the road on Friday with ease, bagging a 41-7 victory over Southern Lee. Given the Raiders' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 20th, while the Cavaliers are ranked 187th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Richmond was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 212 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in October of 2023.
Richmond wouldn't let Southern Lee keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Jaylen Wilson was the leader in that area as all came courtesy of his dominant performance.
Pinecrest's win was their seventh straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 4-0. As for Richmond, they now have a winning record of 3-2.
Pinecrest was able to grind out a solid victory over Richmond when the teams last played back in September of 2023, winning 20-12. Will Pinecrest repeat their success, or does Richmond have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
