Football Preview: Riverside-Durham Pirates vs. Jordan Falcons
The Riverside-Durham Pirates will square off against the Jordan Falcons at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Riverside-Durham is headed into the game out to prove that what happened against Chapel Hill on Thursday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Riverside-Durham was outmatched by Chapel Hill on the road and fell 54-14. The Pirates were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 33-6.
Riverside-Durham might have lost, but man, Jamarion Ross was a machine: he rushed for 155 yards on only 15 carries, and also picked up 34 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Meanwhile, Jordan never let their opponents score on Thursday. They blew past East Chapel Hill, posting a 56-0 victory on the road. The Falcons might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four contests by 31 points or more this season.
Amareon Blue was his usual excellent self, rushing for 90 yards and two touchdowns, while also picking up 45 receiving yards and a touchdown. Landon Melton was another key player, throwing for 74 yards and two touchdowns on only six passes.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Jordan was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 204 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 200 rushing yards in six consecutive matchups.
Jordan didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off four passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Omaris Mcmiller Jr. and Lareun Wilson.
This is the second loss in a row for Riverside-Durham and nudges their season record down to 2-4. As for Jordan, their win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 5-2.
Friday's match might be decided in the on the ground. Riverside-Durham has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 185.2 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Jordan struggles in that department as they've been averaging 228.9. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Riverside-Durham was dealt a bruising 70-0 defeat at the hands of Jordan in their previous meeting back in October of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Blue, who rushed for 154 yards and four touchdowns on only seven carries. Now that Riverside-Durham knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
