The SouthWest Edgecombe Cougars will be playing at home against the Southwest Onslow Stallions at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Southwest Onslow took a loss in their last contest and will be looking to turn the tables on SouthWest Edgecombe, who comes in off a win.
SouthWest Edgecombe is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They breezed past North Johnston to the tune of 49-20 on Thursday. The Cougars pushed the score to 43-12 by the end of the third, a deficit the Panthers cut but never quite recovered from.
Andre Downey Jr
| 10/30/25 vs North Johnston | 135 |
| 08/29/25 @ Hertford County | 126 |
| 10/17/25 vs Washington | 85 |
| 08/22/25 vs Nash Central | 82 |
| 09/19/25 @ North Lenoir | 63 |
SouthWest Edgecombe's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Andre Downey Jr, who rushed for 135 yards and two scores on only 11 carries. Those 135 rushing yards gave Downey Jr a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Devion Mayo Jr, who threw for 181 yards and a pair of touchdowns while completing 85.7% of his passes.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: SouthWest Edgecombe was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 319 rushing yards. They are 4-1 when they've run for more than 200 yards.
SouthWest Edgecombe didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Ny'DariuN DaNiels and Downey Jr.
Meanwhile, Southwest Onslow lost to Clinton at home by a 21-3 margin on Friday. The Stallions haven't had much luck with the Dark Horses recently, as the team has come up short the last three times they've met.
With the win, SouthWest Edgecombe broke their three-game losing streak and moved their record to 5-5. As for Southwest Onslow, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-7.
Friday's game might be decided on the ground. SouthWest Edgecombe has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 213.3 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Southwest Onslow struggles in that department as they've been averaging 166.7 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's matchup turns into a tough fight on the ground.
SouthWest Edgecombe took a serious blow against Southwest Onslow in their previous matchup back in November of 2017, falling 63-28. Thankfully for the Cougars, Jakoby Johnson (who rushed for 195 yards and four TDs while picking up 10.8 yards per carry, and also picked up 34 receiving yards) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
