With a playoff win on the line, Garner rose to the challenge on Friday. They walked away with a 37-24 victory over the Wake Forest Cougars. The final result isn't all that surprising considering the Trojans' considerable advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 20th, while the Cougars are ranked 99th).
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Garner to victory, but perhaps none more so than Amir Wallace, who rushed for 106 yards and one touchdown on only 11 carries. Eric Chisley did his part to keep the secondary busy, picking up 88 receiving yards.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Garner was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 250 rushing yards. They are a perfect 6-0 when they've run for more than 200 yards.
Tyquan Richardson
| 11/14/25 vs Wake Forest | 11 |
| 10/31/25 @ Fuquay - Varina | 10 |
| 10/24/25 vs Clayton | 7 |
| 10/17/25 @ South Garner | 15 |
| 10/10/25 @ Cleveland | 15 |
| + 14 more games |
Another reason for the win was Garner's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for nine sacks. Ryan Hebert led the group effort, picking up three of those sacks all by himself. Tyquan Richardson has been hot for a while, having also posted six or more total tackles the last 19 times he's played.
When it comes to explaining why Wake Forest lost, don't look at Micah Olu. Despite the final result, he rushed for 172 yards while picking up 8.2 yards per carry. The Cougars are 7-2 when Olu posts 80 or more rushing yards, but 0-3 otherwise. Landen Perry was another key player, punching in two rushing scores.
The win made it two in a row for Garner and bumps their season record up to 8-3. As for Wake Forest, they moved to 7-5 with that defeat, which also ended their six-game winning streak.
Looking ahead, Garner will be playing in front of their home fans against Cape Fear at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Wake Forest does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
