Football Game Preview: Hickory Hawks vs. King's Fork Bulldogs + How To Watch

Hickory hasn't had much luck against King's Fork recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Hawks will welcome the Bulldogs at 7:00 p.m.

On Friday, Hickory came up short against Nansemond River and fell 27-20. While losing is never fun, the Hawks can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Virginia football rankings (they are ranked 140th, while the Warriors are ranked 36th).

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask King's Fork). They blew past Lakeland 73-0 on Friday. The Bulldogs have beaten the Cavaliers the last eight times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Cavaliers has come to flipping the script.

Hickory better keep an eye on Isiah Gilliam. He was instrumental in King's Fork's win, rushing for 117 yards and a pair of touchdowns on only 14 carries. The dominant performance also gave Gilliam a new career-high in rushing touchdowns (two).

King's Fork's run defense was locked in: Lakeland could only muster 2.8 yards per carry. The Bulldogs didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 10.4.

King's Fork's victory bumped their record up to 6-1. As for Hickory, they now have a losing record of 3-4.

Hickory was dealt a bruising 47-16 defeat at the hands of King's Fork in their previous meeting back in November of 2024. Can the Hawks avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.