The Cardinal Gibbons Crusaders will face off against the Hillside Hornets at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Cardinal Gibbons is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They blew past Fuquay - Varina 52-8. The final result isn't all that surprising considering the Crusaders' considerable advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked eighth, while the Bengals are ranked 82nd).
Aaron Anderson
| 11/14/25 vs Fuquay - Varina | 192 |
| 10/03/25 @ Ambassador Christian School | 136 |
| 10/10/25 vs Holly Springs | 63 |
| 10/25/24 vs Broughton | 62 |
| 10/24/25 vs Sanderson | 61 |
Aaron Anderson was a one-man wrecking crew as he rushed for 192 yards and three scores on only 15 carries. Those 192 rushing yards gave him a new career-high. Brayden Karras was in the mix too, providing Cardinal Gibbons with two TDs.
Cardinal Gibbons' run defense was locked in: Fuquay - Varina could only muster 2.5 yards per carry. The team can thank Braylon Peebles for the heroic effort on defense: he. Cardinal Gibbons didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 8.9.
Meanwhile, Hillside never let their opponents score on Friday. They really took it to Ashley for the full four quarters, racking up a 33-0 victory. The win was nothing new for the Hornets as they're now sitting on three straight.
Hillside didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. Erick Bonner was the real danger to the passing game, picking up three interceptions all by himself. Another thorn in Ashley's side was Bonner, who made seven total tackles (1.0 for loss) and snagged three interceptions.
Cardinal Gibbons' victory bumped their record up to 10-1. As for Hillside, their win bumped their record up to 9-2.
Everything came up roses for Cardinal Gibbons against Hillside when the teams last played back in November of 2024, as the team secured a 52-19 victory. In that contest, the Crusaders amassed a halftime lead of 31-7, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Thursday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
