The Pender Patriots and the Tarboro Vikings are set to duel on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Pender is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They claimed a resounding 60-20 victory over Gates County. The Patriots pushed the score to 60-12 by the end of the third, a deficit the Red Barons cut but never quite recovered from.
Jeremiah Johnson was his usual excellent self, rushing for 175 yards and three touchdowns on only 13 carries. Johnson is crushing it when it comes to rushing yards: he's rushed for at least 106 every time he's taken the field this season. Another player making a difference was Austin Deal, who rushed for 58 yards and a touchdown.
Pender was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 354 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 195 rushing yards in ten consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, while Tarboro put up plenty of points on Friday, the same can't be said for Warren County. Tarboro simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Warren County 71-0. The win was familiar territory for the Vikings who have now won seven contests in a row.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Tarboro to victory, but perhaps none more so than Mason Satterfield, who rushed for 71 yards and three touchdowns. Kamerin McDowell-Moore was in the mix as well, providing Tarboro with two touchdowns.
Another reason for the win was Tarboro's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for four sacks. Warren County's QB won't forget Tyler Powell anytime soon given he sacked him three times.
Pender has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight games, which provided a nice bump to their 10-3 record this season. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 39.9 points. As for Tarboro, their victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 11-1.
Friday's match might be decided in the on the ground. Pender has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 398.2 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Tarboro struggles in that department as they've been averaging 306.1. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Pender came up short against Tarboro when the teams last played back in December of 2021, falling 22-12. Thankfully for Pender, Tobias Joyner (who rushed for 71 yards and a touchdown, and also caught a touchdown) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
