The Independence Patriots will take on the Page Pirates at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
If Independence beats Page with 41 points on Friday, it's going to be the team's new lucky number: they've won their past two games with that exact score. The Patriots took their contest two weeks ago with ease, bagging a 41-7 win over Butler. Winning may never get old, but the Patriots sure are getting used to it with their fourth in a row.
The match pitted two dominant backs against one another in Jayden Jones and DeMaurion Thomas-Wright. Jones had a great game and gained 225 total yards and four touchdowns. Meanwhile, Thomas-Wright did his best for the losing side, rushing for 104 yards and one touchdown.
Meanwhile, with a playoff win on the line, Page rose to the challenge on Friday. They blew past the Titans, posting a 68-0 victory. The final result isn't all that surprising considering the Pirates' considerable advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 94th, while the Titans are ranked 245th).
Page's win came from a few key players Independence will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Jabari Johnson, who rushed for 122 yards and a pair of TDs on only nine carries. Those 122 rushing yards gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Zamari Williamson, who rushed for 66 yards and one score.
Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something Page proved: they limited McDowell to a paltry 0.1 yards per carry. The team can thank Wyatt 'Wade' Harty for the heroic effort on defense: he. Page didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 14.2.
Page's defense didn't let Danny Charles Brown, get away unscathed either: they got into the backfield for three sacks. The team can thank three different players for their defensive prowess: Justin Dockery, Preston Burnette, and Aedyn Buchanan, who each picked up one sack apiece.
Independence's win bumped their record up to 8-2. As for Page, their victory bumped their record up to 8-3.
Friday's matchup might be decided on the ground. Independence has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 225.4 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Page struggles in that department as they've been averaging 159.6 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's game turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Everything came up roses for Independence against Page when the teams last played back in November of 2022, as the squad secured a 41-13 win. In that contest, the Patriots amassed a halftime lead of 28-7, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.
