Duluth is 0-6 against Norcross since September of 2014 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Duluth Wildcats will venture away from home to face off against the Norcross Blue Devils at 7:30 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both will really light up the scoreboard.
Duluth will head into Friday's matchup on the come-up: they were handed a three-point loss in their last game, but they sure didn't let that happen against Shiloh last Friday. Duluth blew past Shiloh 35-6 at home. The Wildcats pushed the score to 35-0 by the end of the third, a deficit the Generals cut but never quite recovered from.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Duluth to victory, but perhaps none more so than Brandon Lyons, who rushed for 185 yards and two touchdowns on only 12 carries, and also picked up 64 receiving yards. With that strong performance, Lyons is now averaging an impressive 127.3 rushing yards per game.
Another reason for the win was Duluth's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for 7.5 sacks. Ahmad Dortch was particularly dangerous to the passing game, picking up twohimself. Peyton Dyer was another major factor on D, forcing two fumbles, making 24 total tackles, and defending six passes in addition to snagging an interception.
Meanwhile, Norcross took their match on the road on Friday with ease, bagging a 41-14 victory over Walton.
Kobe Robinson was nothing short of spectacular: he rushed for 132 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 7.8 yards per carry. He got the majority of those rushing yards when he took off on a run and that went for an incredible 67 yards.
Norcross' defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged three passes before it was all said and done. It was truly a group effort as Esias Tompkins, Jordan Maduro, and Jaylen Brown picked up one apiece. Tompkins is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made five or more in the last ten games he's played dating back to last season. Another thorn in Walton's side was Ezekiel Theodoris, who forced a fumble, made 16 total tackles (3.0 for loss), and defended two passes which he returned for a touchdown.
Duluth now has a winning record of 2-1. As for Norcross, they now also have a winning record of 2-1.
Friday's contest might be decided in the trenches. Duluth has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 174 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Norcross struggles in that department as they've been averaging 151. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Duluth was taken down by Norcross 41-14 in their previous matchup back in September of 2023. Thankfully for Duluth, Arrington (Aj) Watkins (who rushed for 88 yards and a touchdown, and also picked up 83 receiving yards and a touchdown) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
