Pigeon Forge and Austin-East are an even 4-4 against one another since October of 2014, but not for long. The Pigeon Forge Tigers have the luxury of staying home for another week and will welcome the Austin-East Roadrunners at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Pigeon Forge is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 28.3 points per game this season.
Last Friday, in a tight contest that could have gone either way, Pigeon Forge made off with a 15-14 win over Meigs County.
It was another big night for Wyatt Howard, who rushed for 144 yards and two touchdowns. His rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his fourth straight game with at least 131 rushing yards dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Austin-East was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their eighth straight loss dating back to last season. They lost to Roane County at home by a 49-35 margin. One positive for the Roadrunners, at least, is that this was the most points they've scored all season.
Despite their defeat, Austin-East saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Dimere Ligon, who rushed for 70 yards and a touchdown, and also picked up 64 receiving yards and a touchdown, was perhaps the best of all. Ligon showed off some serious burst, connecting on a big catch for 51 yards. Another player making a difference was Michael Gladney, who rushed for 125 yards and a touchdown on only 13 carries.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Austin-East was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 225 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in October of 2023.
Pigeon Forge has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games, which provided a nice bump to their 5-2 record this season. As for Austin-East, their loss dropped their record down to 0-7.
Pigeon Forge was taken down by Austin-East 46-14 in their previous meeting back in September of 2023. Will Pigeon Forge have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other football content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
