Laney is 1-8 against New Hanover since October of 2014 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Laney Buccaneers will be playing at home against the New Hanover Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
A well-balanced attack led Laney over West Brunswick in every quarter on their way to victory on Friday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Laney blew West Brunswick out of the water with a 49-7 final score. Given Laney's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 59th, while West Brunswick is ranked 312th), the result wasn't exactly an upset.
Laney's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Tyjhere Crudup, who rushed for 89 yards and three touchdowns on only ten carries. Tristan Cotto was another key contributor, rushing for 90 yards and two touchdowns on only seven carries.
The team's defense also helped out by holding West Brunswick to a paltry 214 yards. A big part of that defensive dominance came down to Laney's ability to keep the quarterback under pressure: the team laid him out five times before it was all said and done. The heavy lifting was done by Kenyon Newkirk and JaQuan Bowen who racked up four sacks between them.
Meanwhile, New Hanover earned a 30-21 victory over North Brunswick on Friday.
New Hanover's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Caden Morton, who rushed for 74 yards and two touchdowns, and Jackson Eller, who threw for 123 yards and two touchdowns.
Laney's victory was their fourth straight on the road, which bumped their overall record up to 5-2. To be fair, it's not like the team was facing the toughest opposition over that stretch, as it included 0-7 West Brunswick and 2-5 South Brunswick (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 28.6% over those games). As for New Hanover, they now have a winning record of 4-3.
Friday's contest might be decided on the ground as these two are both standouts in the run game. Laney has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 159.1 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like New Hanover struggles in that department as they've been averaging 154.3 per game. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Laney couldn't quite finish off New Hanover in their previous meeting back in October of 2022 and fell 23-21. Will Laney have more luck at home instead of on the road?
