The Gray's Creek Bears will square off against the Terry Sanford Bulldogs at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Having struggled with four losses in a row, Gray's Creek turned things around against Purnell Swett on Friday. They put the hurt on the Rams with a sharp 43-20 victory.
K.J. Jackson
| 10/24/25 @ Purnell Swett | 34 |
| 09/19/25 vs E.E. Smith | 26 |
| 10/03/25 vs Scotland | 19 |
| 10/10/25 @ Lumberton | 9 |
| 08/29/25 @ Westover | 9 |
A big part of Gray's Creek's win came down to the chemistry between K.J. Jackson and his top target David Bostic. Jackson threw for 80 yards and a pair of touchdowns while Bostic picked up 55 receiving yards and one score. The dominant performance also gave Jackson a new career-high in rushing yards (34).
Gray's Creek was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 340 rushing yards. They are 2-1 when they've run for more than 200 yards.
Meanwhile, Terry Sanford might've scored the first points on Friday, but it was Cape Fear who claimed the real prize. The Bulldogs took a hard 50-35 fall against the Colts. The Bulldogs haven't had much luck with the Colts recently, as the team has come up short the last four times they've met.
Gray's Creek will need to focus on slowing down Sebastian O'Keefe, one of several Terry Sanford players who made an impact when they last played. He rushed for 94 yards and one TD, and also picked up 42 receiving yards and one touchdown. Jacob Moore was another key player, throwing for 199 yards and a pair of TDs on only 17 passes.
Gray's Creek's victory was their first in the conference, bumping their conference record up to 1-3 and their overall record up to 4-5. As for Terry Sanford, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-3.
Friday's matchup might be decided on the ground. Gray's Creek has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 185.6 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Terry Sanford struggles in that department as they've been averaging 174.6 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's game turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Gray's Creek came out on top in a nail-biter against Terry Sanford in their previous meeting back in March of 2021, sneaking past 34-32. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was the Bulldogs' Jre Jackson, who rushed for 316 yards and a pair of scores while picking up 13.7 yards per carry. Now that he won't be playing on Friday, will it be easier for the Bears to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
