The North Lincoln Knights will head out on the road to take on the Hickory Red Tornadoes at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are still undefeated (North Lincoln has four wins , while Hickory has 20 dating back to last season).
North Lincoln will bounce into Friday's contest after beating Statesville, who they hadn't topped in six consecutive meetings. North Lincoln put the hurt on Statesville with a sharp 39-14 victory on Friday. Given the Knights' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 33rd, while the Greyhounds are ranked 90th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Shannon Wingate was his usual excellent self, rushing for 151 yards and four touchdowns. His rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his fourth straight game with at least 151 rushing yards dating back to last season. North Lincoln also got a significant boost from Landen Agee, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 88 yards.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: North Lincoln was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 331 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 177 rushing yards in 14 consecutive games dating back to last season.
One reason for the win was North Lincoln's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for four sacks. Statesville's QB won't forget Brady Rinkus anytime soon given he sacked him twice.
Meanwhile, Hickory got the win against East Lincoln on Friday by a conclusive 42-21. Fans of the Red Tornadoes have seen this all before: every one of the games they've played this season has ended in a blowout of 20+ points.
Isaiah Lackey continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 164 yards and four touchdowns. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 104 rushing yards per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Brady Stober, who threw for 230 yards and two touchdowns while completing 87.5% of his passes.
North Lincoln's win was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 4-0. As for Hickory, their record is now 4-0.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. North Lincoln has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 332 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Hickory struggles in that department as they've been averaging 167.5. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches.
North Lincoln suffered a grim 48-28 defeat to Hickory in their previous meeting back in November of 2023. Can North Lincoln avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
