Football Recap: William Taylor and Makai Henriquez Lead the Defense for Porter Ridge Win + How To Watch

Porter Ridge's game last Friday was a loss, but they didn't let that memory haunt them on Friday. They put the hurt on the South Iredell Vikings with a sharp 31-6 win. The final result isn't all that surprising considering the Pirates' considerable advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 38th, while the Vikings are ranked 135th).

Rai'Shawn Elmore

Receiving Yards

09/12/25 @ South Iredell	74
09/05/25 vs West Forsyth	12
08/29/25 @ Ardrey Kell	51
08/22/25 @ A.L. Brown	36
11/01/24 vs Sun Valley	-8
+ 8 more games

It was another big night for Rai'Shawn Elmore, who rushed for 73 yards and a pair of touchdowns on only five carries, and also picked up 74 receiving yards. That's the most receiving yards he has posted since back in September of 2024. Porter Ridge also got a significant boost from Jamal Subah, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 84 yards.

Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something Porter Ridge proved: they limited South Iredell to a paltry 0.9 yards per carry. The team can thank Charles Watson for the heroic effort on defense: he. Porter Ridge didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 6.6.

Porter Ridge didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of William Taylor and Makai Henriquez. Taylor has been hot recently, having also posted five or more total tackles the last three times he's played. Another thorn in South Iredell's side was Dawson James, who picked up four sacks and made seven total tackles.

Porter Ridge pushed their record up to 3-1 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road. Those road wins came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 11.3 points on average over those games. As for South Iredell, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-3.

Looking ahead, Porter Ridge will be playing in front of their home fans against Cuthbertson at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The Cavaliers' defense has only allowed 13.5 points per game this season, so the Pirates' offense will have their work cut out for them. As for South Iredell, they will head out to face off against Alexander Central at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.