The Fuquay - Varina Bengals will head out on the road to square off against the South Garner Titans at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Fuquay - Varina will be strutting in after a win while South Garner will be coming in after a defeat.
Fuquay - Varina is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They blew past Smithfield-Selma 51-0 on Friday. The high-scoring effort was just what the Bengals needed considering they were shut out in their previous game.
Fuquay - Varina got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Matthew Ziglar out in front who rushed for 39 yards and a pair of scores, and also caught one TD. The dominant performance also gave Ziglar a new career-high in rushing touchdowns (two). Ben Cole was another key passer, throwing for 79 yards and two touchdowns.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Fuquay - Varina was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 263 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, South Garner was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their third straight loss. They lost 29-3 to Garner. While losing is never fun, the Titans can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 121st, while the Trojans are ranked 22nd).
Fuquay - Varina will have to contain Chase Hardy as he made an impact in South Garner's last game. He rushed for 64 yards and one TD on only nine carries. South Garner also got a significant boost from Alijah Clarke, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 82 yards.
Even if they lost, South Garner's defense still kept up the pressure with three sacks. The team can thank three different players for their defensive prowess: Ebenezer Ewetade, Armez Phelps, and Nate Byrd, who each picked up one sack apiece.
South Garner's defeat dropped their record down to 3-5. As for Fuquay - Varina, the win got them back to even at 4-4.
Everything went Fuquay - Varina's way against South Garner when the teams last played back in October of 2024, as Fuquay - Varina made off with a 38-17 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Bengals since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
