Football Preview: North East Grape Pickers vs. Titusville Rockets
Two dominant backs in Ethen Ringer and Jaxon Covell are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The North East Grape Pickers will welcome the Titusville Rockets at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Having struggled with five defeats in a row dating back to last season, North East finally turned things around against Franklin on Saturday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat the Knights 38-7 on the road. The Grape Pickers' offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.
North East found their leader in underclassman Ringer, who rushed for 172 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 8.6 yards per carry. The team also got some help courtesy of Bryson Galloway, who rushed for 57 yards and a touchdown.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, North East was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 286 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Titusville entered their tilt with Warren on Friday with three consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with four. They breezed by the Dragons at home to the tune of 56-0. The Rockets might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four matches by 27 points or more this season.
Covell was his usual excellent self, rushing for 205 yards and three touchdowns on only ten carries, while also picking up 67 receiving yards and a touchdown. He got the majority of those receiving yards when he pulled down a pass and took off for a gain of 60 yards. Another player making a difference was Ian Mcdonald, who threw for 235 yards and four touchdowns while completing 81.3% of his passes.
North East's first victory this season bumped their record up to 1-4. As for Titusville, they pushed their record up to 4-1 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home dating back to last season.
North East came up short against Titusville in their previous meeting back in September of 2021, falling 28-24. Thankfully for North East, Garrett Knapp (who threw for 255 yards and three touchdowns while completing 88% of his passes, and also punched in a touchdown on the ground) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
