If East Rutherford was riding high off their 62-15 takedown of Newton-Conover last Friday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The East Rutherford Cavaliers and the North Lincoln Knights were almost perfectly matched up on Thursday, but the East Rutherford Cavaliers suffered a 56-55 defeat. The loss continues a trend for the Cavaliers in their matchups with the Knights: they've now lost three in a row.
East Rutherford lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Blake Mcclellan, who picked up 205 receiving yards and a touchdown, and also punched in three touchdowns on the ground. That's the most rushing yards Mcclellan has posted since back in September of 2023. Brandon Pinkerton was another key rusher, gaining 203 total yards and three touchdowns.
East Rutherford wouldn't let North Lincoln keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force three fumbles. It was truly a group effort as Cj Jackson, Zalen "Aki" Watkins, and Jason Arrowood picked up one apiece. With that strong performance, "Aki" Watkins is now averaging an impressive 6.2 total tackles per game.
Even though they lost, East Rutherford was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 202 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 156 rushing yards in four consecutive contests.
This one was won in the trenches and the lion's share of the credit has to go to Landen Agee and he. Agee gained 138 total yards and four touchdowns while he gained 138 total yards and four touchdowns. He also deserves a shoutout for his performance on D, making five total tackles and defending a pass.
East Rutherford's defeat dropped their record down to 2-2. As for North Lincoln, the victory was the third in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 3-0.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. East Rutherford will challenge Brevard at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. East Rutherford knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 31 point or more in their past four games -- so hopefully Brevard likes a good challenge. As for North Lincoln, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Statesville at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. North Lincoln will be looking to keep their seven-game home win streak dating back to last season alive.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
