Football Preview: Lincolnton Wolves vs. Maiden Blue Devils
Lincolnton has won three straight games at home, while Maiden has won three straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Friday. After each having a week off, both will shake off the cobwebs and face off against one another at 7:30 p.m. After the two teams made easy work of their previous opponents, one won't be so lucky on Friday.
Two weeks ago, Lincolnton made easy work of West Lincoln and carried off a 42-21 win. The Wolves pushed the score to 35-13 by the end of the third, a deficit the Rebels cut but never quite recovered from.
Treylen Bost continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 209 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 9.5 yards per carry. His rushing production has been exceptional as that marked his sixth straight game with at least 105 rushing yards. Another player making a difference was Rashad Lynch, who threw for 167 yards and two touchdowns.
Lincolnton's defense stepped up as well, laying out Gideon Allan. five times. West Lincoln's QB won't forget Jade Hunter anytime soon given he sacked him twice. Lincolnton is undefeated when Hunter posts one or more sacks, but 3-4 otherwise. Jalaythan ?JJ? Mayfield was another major factor on D, picking up a sack and making ten total tackles.
Lincolnton was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 270 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 202 rushing yards in six consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Maiden was fully in charge two weeks ago, breezing past Newton-Conover 48-14. Given the Blue Devils' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 87th, while the Red Devils are ranked 227th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Maiden's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Kendall Roberts, who rushed for 171 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 7.1 yards per carry. Those 171 rushing yards gave Roberts a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Grant Lawing, who threw for 150 yards and two touchdowns while completing 85.7% of his passes.
Maiden has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 7-3 record this season. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 37.6 points per game. As for Lincolnton, their record is now 6-4.
Friday's match might be decided in the on the ground. Lincolnton has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 207 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Maiden struggles in that department as they've been averaging 195.2. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Lincolnton won a game that couldn't have been any closer in their previous meeting back in October, slipping by Maiden 20-19. Does Lincolnton have another victory up their sleeve, or will Maiden turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
