Asheville School (Independent) and Hickory Grove Christian are an even 3-3 against one another since September of 2015, but not for long. The Asheville School (Independent) Blues will be playing at home against the Hickory Grove Christian Lions at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Asheville School (Independent) will be hoping to continue their three-game streak of scoring more points each game than the last.
Asheville School (Independent) put the finishing touches on their third blowout victory of the season on Friday. They took their match at home with ease, bagging a 63-0 victory over SouthLake Christian Academy. Given Asheville School (Independent)'s advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 116th, while SouthLake Christian Academy is ranked 384th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Caleb Jenkins and Ricky Tolbert were among the main playmakers for Asheville School (Independent) as the former rushed for 107 yards and a touchdown on only five carries and the latter threw for 135 yards and four touchdowns while completing 91.7% of his passes. Jenkins was no stranger to the big play, turning on the jets for a run that went for 51 yards. Leo Sfez zhao also deserves a shout-out for his two touchdowns.
The team's defense also helped out by holding SouthLake Christian Academy to a paltry -22 yards. A big part of that defensive dominance came down to Asheville School (Independent)'s ability to keep the quarterback under pressure: the team laid him out six times before it was all said and done. The heavy lifting was done by Derek Durand and Reed Casey who racked up four sacks between them.
Meanwhile, Hickory Grove Christian unfortunately witnessed the end of their eight-game winning streak on Friday. They fell 23-13 to High Point Christian Academy.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Anthony Hawkins, who rushed for 80 yards and a touchdown.
Asheville School (Independent) is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six games, which provided a nice bump to their 5-3 record this season. As for Hickory Grove Christian, their loss dropped their record down to 8-1.
We should be in store for an exciting game Friday as both teams have no problem gaining yardage. Asheville School (Independent) has been on an offensive roll this season, having averaged 359.2 total yards per game. However, it's not like Hickory Grove Christian struggles in that department as they've been even better at 374.5 per game. With a pair of commanding offenses duking it out, the defenses are going to have their work cut out for them.
Everything came up roses for Asheville School (Independent) against Hickory Grove Christian in their previous meeting back in October of 2021 as the squad secured a 55-12 win. Does Asheville School (Independent) have another victory up their sleeve, or will Hickory Grove Christian turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
