Football Preview: Lawrence North Wildcats vs. Pike Red Devils
The Lawrence North Wildcats will challenge the Pike Red Devils at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Lawrence North's favor is that they have posted at least 31 points every time they've taken the field this season.
Lawrence North is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Indiana's top teams: Center Grove, who was ranked seventh in their home state at the time (Lawrence North was ranked second). Lawrence North walked away with a 34-21 win over Center Grove on Friday. The Wildcats pushed the score to 27-7 by the end of the third, a deficit the Trojans cut but never quite recovered from.
Lawrence North found their leader in underclassman Izayveon Moore, who rushed for 235 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 10.2 yards per carry. Moore's longest rush was for an incredible 94 yards.
Lawrence North didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Cale Mallory and Jerome Smith. Smith is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made five or more in the last three games he's played dating back to last season. Daione Lunsford was another major factor on D, forcing a fumble and making 20 total tackles (3.0 for loss).
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Lawrence North was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 293 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in October of 2023.
Meanwhile, Pike got the win against North Central on Friday by a conclusive 35-14. The result was nothing new for the Red Devils, who have now won three contests by 21 points or more so far this season.
Lawrence North pushed their record up to 8-0 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. As for Pike, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 5-3.
Friday's game might be decided in the on the ground. Lawrence North has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 161 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Pike struggles in that department as they've been averaging 170.5. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Lawrence North strolled past Pike in their previous meeting back in October of 2023 by a score of 21-6. The rematch might be a little tougher for Lawrence North since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
