The Cherokee Braves will head out on the road to face off against the Starmount Rams at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Cherokee has struggled recently with three defeats in a row, while Starmount will arrive with four straight victories.
Last Friday, Cherokee suffered a tough 35-12 defeat at the hands of Murphy. While losing is never fun, Cherokee can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 254th, while Murphy is ranked 112th).
Although Cherokee took the loss, they still got scores from Mato Grant and Elijah Lineberry.
Meanwhile, Starmount can now show off seven landslide victories after their most recent match on Friday. They claimed a resounding 41-0 win over Elkin at home. Starmount pushed the score to 20-0 by the end of the third, a deficit Elkin had little chance of recovering from.
Kinston Crater was his usual excellent self, rushing for 134 yards and three touchdowns.
Cherokee has traveled a rocky road recently, as they've lost four of their last five games, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-5 record this season. As for Starmount, their victory was their fifth straight at home, bumping their overall record up to 9-1.
Cherokee was able to grind out a solid victory over Starmount in their previous matchup back in November of 2022, winning 28-21. Does Cherokee have another victory up their sleeve, or will Starmount turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
