Watauga has won nine straight games at home, while Middle Creek has won nine straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Friday. The Pioneers will welcome the Mustangs at 4:00 p.m. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Watauga is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Saturday. In a tight matchup that could have gone either way, they made off with a 43-42 win over Northern Guilford.
Cade Keller produced another solid effort throwing for 267 yards and four touchdowns. Matthew Leon helped Keller out on the ground, rushing for 33 yards and one score, while also picking up 30 receiving yards and one TD.
Watauga didn't let much get past them through the air: they limited Northern Guilford to a completion percentage of just 42.1%. The Pioneers weren't nearly as limited: they posted one of 70%.
Watauga didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Evan Burroughs and Bowen Mayo. Burroughs got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.
Meanwhile, Middle Creek won against Northern Nash last Friday with 31 points and they decided to stick to that point total again on Friday. The Mustangs came out on top against Jacksonville by a score of 31-21.
Middle Creek's win came from a few key players Watauga will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Tracy Harrington Jr, who picked up 84 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns. What's more, he posted two receiving touchdowns, the most he's had since back in September. Lex Sevilla was another key player, throwing for 116 yards and three TDs.
One reason for the win was Middle Creek's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for five sacks. Jacksonville's QB won't forget Davis Prichard anytime soon given he sacked him four times. Prichard is also crushing it when it comes to total tackles: he's made at least five every time he's taken the field this season. Middle Creek got some further help from Connor Smith: he picked up a sack and made nine total tackles (4.0 for loss).
Watauga's victory bumped their record up to 14-0. As for Middle Creek, their win bumped their record up to 11-2.
Friday's contest might be decided on the ground. Watauga has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 187.1 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Middle Creek struggles in that department as they've been averaging 184.2 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's game turns into a tough fight on the ground. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
