Football Game Preview: Grainger Grizzlies vs. Elizabethton Fighting Cyclones

Grainger is 0-8 against Elizabethton since September of 2017 but things could change on Friday. The Grizzlies will be playing at home against the Fighting Cyclones at 7:30 p.m. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Grainger took a loss when they played away from home last Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They snuck past Sullivan East with a 27-22 win. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last five times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.

Meanwhile, Elizabethton came tearing into Friday's game with four straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 10 points), and they left with even more momentum. They really took it to the Cougars for the full four quarters, racking up a 34-7 victory. That 27 point margin sets a new team best for the Fighting Cyclones this season.

Elizabethton's win came from a few key players Grainger will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was William McDuffie, who rushed for 123 yards and one TD on only 13 carries. Those 123 rushing yards gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Rhett Slagle, who threw for 117 yards and one touchdown.

Elizabethton was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 211 rushing yards. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 77.3 rushing yards per game earlier this season, but in their last five contests they've averaged 172.7.

Elizabethton's win bumped their record up to 5-1. As for Grainger, their victory was their first in the district, bumping their district record up to 1-3 and their overall record up to 3-3.

Grainger was taken down by Elizabethton 58-6 in their previous meeting back in September of 2024. That matchup was all but decided by halftime, at which point the Grizzlies were down 44-0.