Kinston hasn't had much luck against Elba recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Kinston Bulldogs will venture away from home to challenge the Elba Tigers at 7:00 p.m. Elba took a loss in their last contest and will be looking to turn the tables on Kinston, who comes in off a win.
Kinston took a loss when they played away from home last Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. Their defense stepped up to hand Red Level a 38-0 shutout. The win was some much needed relief for the Bulldogs as it spelled an end to their six-game losing streak dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Elba didn't have quite enough to beat McKenzie on Friday and fell 80-78. Elba has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Despite the loss, Elba got top-tier performance from Alvin Henderson, who rushed for 389 yards and nine touchdowns while picking up 9.5 yards per carry. The dominant performance gave him a new career- in rushing yards.
Even though they lost, Elba was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 506 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 340 rushing yards in 17 consecutive matchups dating back to last season.
Elba wouldn't let McKenzie keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Elba can thank Mateo Jimenez and Cayden Adkins for forcing both of them. Adkins is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made seven or more in the last seven games he's played dating back to last season.
Kinston's first victory this season bumped their record up to 1-2. As for Elba, they now also have a losing record at 1-2.
Kinston was taken down by Elba 42-7 when the teams last played back in September of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Henderson, who rushed for 218 yards and four touchdowns on only nine carries. Now that Kinston knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
