Football Preview: Fayette Academy Vikings vs. Halls Tigers
The Fayette Academy Vikings will head out on the road to square off against the Halls Tigers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Fayette Academy will head out to face Halls after giving up their first home loss of the season on Friday. Fayette Academy had to suffer through a 48-14 loss at the hands of Jackson Christian. While losing is never fun, the Vikings can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Tennessee football rankings (they are ranked 230th, while the Eagles are ranked 70th).
Despite the loss, Fayette Academy had strong showings from Zane Pike, who picked up 98 receiving yards and a touchdown, and Corbin Bowling, who threw for 156 yards and a touchdown. Pike showed off some serious burst, cutting upfield on a catch for 67 yards.
Meanwhile, Halls put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They strolled past Lake County with points to spare, taking the game 34-20. While the Tigers didn't have the best season last year (they finished 2-9), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
Easton Apperson #14 continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 118 yards and two touchdowns on only 14 carries.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Halls was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 381 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 292 rushing yards in five consecutive games.
Halls' defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Khadon Piphus.
This is the second loss in a row for Fayette Academy and nudges their season record down to 1-3. As for Halls, they pushed their record up to 5-0 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Fayette Academy has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 176 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Halls struggles in that department as they've been averaging 403. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Everything came up roses for Fayette Academy against Halls in their previous meeting back in September of 2023, as the team secured a 63-7 win. In that match, Fayette Academy amassed a halftime lead of 49-7, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
