Football Preview: New Hanover Wildcats vs. Topsail Pirates
New Hanover is 9-1 against Topsail since October of 2016, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The New Hanover Wildcats will host the Topsail Pirates at 7:00 p.m.
New Hanover fought the good fight in their overtime game against Pinecrest last Friday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They and the Patriots were almost perfectly matched up, but they suffered a 28-27 defeat. The loss was the Wildcats' first of the season.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Marqueze Higgins, who rushed for 95 yards and two touchdowns. Another passer making a difference was Jacob Monroe, who threw for 184 yards and a touchdown.
Even if they lost, New Hanover's defense still kept up the pressure with 4.5 sacks. Allex Jenkins was particularly dangerous to the passing game, picking up twohimself. New Hanover got some further help from Mikko Skinner: he made 14 total tackles (3.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, Topsail strolled past West Brunswick with points to spare on Monday, taking the game 24-7. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Pirates.
Damarion Smith had a dynamite game for Topsail, rushing for 43 yards and a touchdown, while also picking up 38 receiving yards and a touchdown. Eli Hebron was in the mix as well, providing Topsail with a touchdown.
Having lost for the first time this season, New Hanover fell to 2-1. As for Topsail, they now also have a winning record of 2-1.
We should be in store for an exciting game as both have no problem gaining yardage. New Hanover has been on an offensive roll this season, having averaged 359.3 total yards per game. However, it's not like Topsail struggles in that department as they've been averaging 399.3. With a pair of commanding offenses duking it out, the defenses are going to have their work cut out for them.
New Hanover was able to grind out a solid win over Topsail in their previous matchup back in September of 2023, winning 16-9. Does New Hanover have another victory up their sleeve, or will Topsail turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
