Football Game Preview: Havelock Rams vs. Croatan Cougars

Two dominant backs in Jayden Howard and Andrew Boucher are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Havelock Rams will take on the Croatan Cougars at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Havelock is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They were the clear victors by a 35-14 margin over Currituck County. The Rams pushed the score to 35-7 by the end of the third, a deficit the Knights cut but never quite recovered from.

Jayden Howard

Rushing Yards

11/14/25 @ Currituck County	183
11/07/25 vs Richlands	101
10/31/25 vs Northside - Jacksonville	73
10/17/25 @ Swansboro	186
10/10/25 vs Dixon	142
+ 7 more games

Havelock didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Howard and Andrew WIlliams. With that strong performance, Howard is now averaging an impressive 106 rushing yards per game. Another thorn in Currituck County's side was Khimani Nolan, who forced one fumble, made ten total tackles, and defended three passes.

Meanwhile, Croatan came tearing into Friday's matchup with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 21 points), and they left with even more momentum. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat the Hawks 49-13. The game was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 28-7.

Havelock's victory bumped their record up to 7-5. As for Croatan, their win bumped their record up to 10-1.

Havelock couldn't quite get it done against Croatan in their previous meeting back in September as they fell 14-7. Can the Rams avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.