The North East Grape Pickers will take on the Corry Beavers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. North East is out to stop a four-game streak of losses at home dating back to last season.
It's never fun to lose, and it's even less fun to lose 47-14, which was the final score in North East's tilt against Titusville on Friday.
The match pitted two dominant backs against one another in Ethen Ringer and Jaxon Covell. Covell had a great game and rushed for 189 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 11.1 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Ringer was balling out in the loss, rushing for 132 yards and a touchdown.
Even though they lost, North East was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 223 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 152 rushing yards in four consecutive matchups.
North East wouldn't let Titusville keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Logan Latimore was the leader in that area as all came courtesy of his dominant performance.
Meanwhile, Corry hadn't done well against Mercyhurst Prep recently (they were 0-4 in their previous four matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Friday. Corry came out on top against Mercyhurst Prep by a score of 28-21.
Nolan Carey was the offensive standout of the contest as he threw for 144 yards and two touchdowns, and also rushed for 86 yards. That's the most rushing yards he has posted since back in October of 2023.
Corry's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged four passes before it was all said and done. It was truly a group effort as Blake Cook, Marcus Meredith, Keaton Frisina, and Lamech Albers picked up one apiece.
North East's loss dropped their record down to 1-5. As for Corry, their win bumped their record up to 4-2.
Friday's match might be decided in the trenches. North East has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 179.7 rushing yards per game. It's a different story for Corry, though, as they've been averaging only 95.7. How will they fare against such a dominant running game?
North East strolled past Corry in their previous matchup back in October of 2023 by a score of 49-30. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Carey, who rushed for 233 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 13.7 yards per carry, and also threw for 43 yards and a touchdown. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will North East still be able to contain Carey? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
