Jacksonville and New Bern are an even 4-4 against one another since September of 2014, but not for long. The Jacksonville Cardinals are taking a road trip to challenge the New Bern Bears at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Each of these teams will be battling to keep a three-game winning streak alive.
Last Friday, Jacksonville humbled J.H. Rose with a 53-20 victory. The contest was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point the Cardinals had established a 32 point advantage.
Demon June was nothing short of spectacular: he rushed for 196 yards and three touchdowns on only 13 carries, and also caught a touchdown. His longest rush was for an impressive 64 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total. Backing up that air attack was Eric Griffin, who rushed for 87 yards and a rushing touchdown.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Jacksonville was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 372 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted was before the start of last season.
Jacksonville's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged three passes before it was all said and done. The picks came courtesy of Harlem Williams and Jackson Henry.
Meanwhile, New Bern was not the first on the board last Friday, but they got there more often. In a tight match that could have gone either way, they made off with a 28-27 victory over Havelock.
New Bern's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Jussan Wiggins, who picked up 57 receiving yards and a touchdown, and also punched in a touchdown on the ground. Terrance Mccormick was another key player, rushing for 76 yards and a touchdown.
Jacksonville pushed their record up to 3-0 with the victory, which was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season. As for New Bern, their record now sits at 4-1.
Thursday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Jacksonville has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 226.3 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like New Bern struggles in that department as they've been averaging 169.5. It's looking like Thursday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Everything went Jacksonville's way against New Bern in their previous matchup back in September of 2023, as Jacksonville made off with a 41-18 win. In that contest, Jacksonville amassed a halftime lead of 24-3, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Thursday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
