The King Academy Knights will take on the Wardlaw Academy Patriots at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. King Academy is coming into the match on a three-game losing streak.
King Academy is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of South Carolina's top teams: Laurens Academy, who was ranked fifth in their home state at the time (King Academy was ranked tenth). King Academy took a 52-36 bruising from Laurens Academy on Friday. One positive for the Knights, at least, is that this was the most points they've scored all season.
Meanwhile, Wardlaw Academy entered their game against Richard Winn Academy on Friday without any home losses, but there's a first time for everything. Wardlaw Academy lost to Richard Winn Academy at home by a 30-16 margin. The Patriots have struggled against the Eagles recently, as their game on Friday was their sixth consecutive lost matchup.
Despite the loss, Wardlaw Academy got top-tier performance from Colt Bailey, who rushed for 200 yards and a touchdown, and also threw for 31 yards and a touchdown. Bailey's rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his fifth straight game with at least 198 rushing yards dating back to last season.
Even though they lost, Wardlaw Academy was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 218 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 218 rushing yards in five consecutive matchups.
King Academy's defeat dropped their record down to 1-4. As for Wardlaw Academy, the loss snapped their winning streak at four games and leaves them with a 4-1 record.
King Academy suffered a grim 32-8 defeat to Wardlaw Academy when the teams last played back in August. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Bailey, who rushed for 224 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 9.3 yards per carry. Now that King Academy 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
