Football Game Preview: Riverside-Durham Pirates vs. Northern Durham Knights + How To Watch

The Riverside-Durham Pirates will venture away from home to challenge the Northern Durham Knights at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Neither Riverside-Durham nor Northern Durham posted many points in their last games, so it might be the defenses that decide this one.

Riverside-Durham is headed into the contest out to prove that what happened against Chapel Hill on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. The Pirates took a blow against the Tigers, falling 35-2. The Pirates were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 21-0.

Meanwhile, it's never fun to lose, and it's even less fun to lose 49-6, which was the final score in Northern Durham's tilt against Hillside on Friday. While losing is never fun, the Knights can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 385th, while the Hornets are ranked 111th).

Northern Durham has also traveled a rocky road recently, having lost three of their last four games. That's put a noticeable dent in their 3-6 record this season. As for Riverside-Durham, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-8.

Riverside-Durham took their victory against Northern Durham when the teams last played back in November of 2024 by a conclusive 35-14 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Pirates since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.