After each having a week off, the North Stanly Comets and the Forest Hills Yellow Jackets will dust off their jerseys to face off against one another at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. The two teams have allowed few points on average, (North Stanly: 16.8, Forest Hills: 17.8) so any points scored will be well earned.
Two weeks ago, North Stanly needed a bit of extra time to put away West Stanly. They won a game that couldn't have been any closer, slipping by the Colts 38-37. The high-flying offensive performance was a huge turnaround for the Comets considering their seven-point performance the contest before.
Jaylon Mckoy went supernova for North Stanly, picking up 125 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Mckoy didn't just play on offense: he also made seven total tackles and defended two passes. Another player making a difference was Charlie Shaver, who threw for 195 yards and three touchdowns.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, North Stanly was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 281 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in October of 2023.
North Stanly's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Nathan Helms.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Forest Hills, who bounced back after a loss on the road on September 6th. They blew past Community School of Davidson 36-7 at home two weeks ago. The Yellow Jackets' offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.
Rodney Smith was his usual excellent self, rushing for 68 yards and a touchdown on only nine carries. He was even better on defense, picking up a sack, forcing a fumble, and forcing a fumble in addition to snagging two interceptions which he returned one-yard for a touchdown.
Forest Hills wouldn't let Community School of Davidson keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Forest Hills can thank Ryan Walker and Smith for forcing both of them.
North Stanly's record now sits at 3-1. As for Forest Hills, the win got them back to even at 2-2.
Saturday's match might be decided in the on the ground. North Stanly has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 180.5 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Forest Hills struggles in that department as they've been averaging 165. It's looking like Saturday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
North Stanly suffered a grim 35-13 defeat to Forest Hills when the teams last played back in September of 2023. Thankfully for North Stanly, Brady Hibbard (who threw for 170 yards and three touchdowns, and also rushed for 35 yards) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
