The Community Christian Cyclones will square off against the Liberty Christian Academy Heat at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Community Christian is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of North Carolina's top teams: Northeast Academy, who was ranked 13th at the time (Community Christian was ranked eighth). The Cyclones put the hurt on the Eagles with a sharp 38-12 win on Friday. The victory continues a trend for the Cyclones in their matchups with the Eagles: they've now won five in a row.
Bailey Bunn was his usual excellent self, rushing for 85 yards and a pair of scores on only seven carries, while also throwing for 170 yards and two touchdowns on only eight passes. Another player making a difference was Tee Bohne, who rushed for 61 yards and one TD.
Meanwhile, Liberty Christian Academy blew past Lee Christian, posting a 55-8 win. The matchup marked the Heat's most dominant victory of the season.
Liberty Christian Academy found their leader in sophomore Eddie Deptola, who rushed for 132 yards and three touchdowns on only seven carries, and also threw for 73 yards and a pair of TDs. Those 132 rushing yards set a new season-high mark for Deptola. Logan Potting was another key player, rushing for 47 yards and a pair of scores.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Liberty Christian Academy was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 208 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in October of 2024.
On the defensive side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Liberty Christian Academy's defense and their seven sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Noah Horne and Caleb Malpass, who racked up 5.5 sacks between them.
Liberty Christian Academy now has a winning record of 3-2. As for Community Christian, their win bumped their record up to 7-1.
Friday's contest might be decided on the ground. Community Christian has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 194.2 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Liberty Christian Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 163.8 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's game turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Community Christian strolled past Liberty Christian Academy in their previous meeting back in August by a score of 38-20. Do the Cyclones have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Heat turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
