The Clay County Panthers are taking a road trip to challenge the Braxton County Eagles at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Clay County is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 43.7 points per game this season.
Last Friday, Clay County blew past Lincoln County, posting a 47-12 victory. The result was nothing new for Clay County, who have now won six games by 21 points or more so far this season.
Noah Collins was his usual excellent self, throwing for 293 yards and five touchdowns, while also rushing for 49 yards and two touchdowns. He has been hot recently, having posted two or more rushing touchdowns the last three times he's played. Jakoby Nichols was another key player, picking up 125 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
Clay County didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Collins and Nichols.
Meanwhile, Braxton County was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Saturday as they fell 35-29 to Berkeley Springs.
Despite the defeat, Braxton County saw an underclassman step up: freshman Logan Payne rushed for 143 yards and three touchdowns. Payne also put in work on the defensive side of the ball, picking up a sack and making seven total tackles. Elijah Marcum also helped out with an impressive 85 receiving yards.
Even though they lost, Braxton County was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 244 rushing yards. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 48.8 rushing yards per game earlier this season, but in their last five matchups they've averaged 148.4.
The win made it two in a row for Clay County and bumps their season record up to 6-3. As for Braxton County, their loss was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season, which dropped their record down to 1-8.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's match: Clay County has been excellent in the air this season, having averaged 317.1 passing yards per game. It's a different story for Braxton County, though, as they've been averaging only 34.1. How will they fare against such a dominant passing game?
Everything came up roses for Clay County against Braxton County in their previous meeting back in November of 2023, as the team secured a 49-6 victory. In that contest, Clay County amassed a halftime lead of 28-6, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
