North Lincoln and East Lincoln are an even 5-5 against one another since September of 2015, but not for long. The North Lincoln Knights are taking a road trip to challenge the East Lincoln Mustangs at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
East Lincoln is hoping to do what West Iredell couldn't on Friday: put an end to North Lincoln's winning streak, which now stands at four games. Everything went North Lincoln's way against West Iredell as North Lincoln made off with a 35-14 win. Given the Knights' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 49th, while the Warriors are ranked 267th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Shannon Wingate continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 139 yards and a touchdown on only 14 carries. The team also got some help courtesy of Tim Folk, who rushed for 58 yards and a touchdown.
North Lincoln was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 288 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 177 rushing yards in 19 consecutive matchups dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, East Lincoln took their game on Friday with ease, bagging a 50-7 victory over North Iredell. That looming 50-7 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Mustangs yet this season.
It was another big night for Grant Lawless, who threw for 270 yards and four touchdowns while completing 95.2% of his passes, and also rushed for 50 yards. A healthy portion of Lawless' aerial production (84 yards to be exact) went to Lj Forney, who also brought in a receiving touchdown.
East Lincoln didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Kaeden Hutchison and Jacoby Hunt. Kaleb Lauffer was another major factor on D, picking up two sacks and making nine total tackles.
North Lincoln's record now sits at 8-1. As for East Lincoln, the win was the fourth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 7-2.
Friday's match might be decided in the on the ground. North Lincoln has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 330.6 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like East Lincoln struggles in that department as they've been averaging 172.3. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
North Lincoln beat East Lincoln 13-0 when the teams last played back in October of 2023. The rematch might be a little tougher for North Lincoln since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
