The East Wilkes Cardinals will challenge the Hayesville Yellowjackets at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
East Wilkes' defense heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed two weeks ago. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Wilkes Central 53-0. The victory was nothing new for the Cardinals as they're now sitting on four straight.

Austin Nash
| 10/31/25 vs Wilkes Central | 3 |
| 09/26/25 vs West Wilkes | 2 |
| 09/05/25 vs North Iredell | 2 |
| 10/24/25 @ Elkin | 1 |
| 10/17/25 @ Ashe County | 1 |
Austin Nash had another great game (as he tends to do), rushing for 184 yards and three scores on only six carries. Those three rushing touchdowns gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Ayden Guessford, who rushed for 38 yards and a pair of TDs.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: East Wilkes was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 310 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 260 rushing yards in four consecutive matchups.
East Wilkes didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Reece Dobbins and Braylen Walker.
Meanwhile, with a playoff win on the line, Hayesville rose to the challenge on Friday. They blew past the Rams 41-6. The contest was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 34-0.
Hayesville had a senior duo take command as Tre Graves rushed for 125 yards and three touchdowns on only 14 carries and Peyton McGaha threw for 186 yards and a pair of TDs while completing 81.8% of his passes. The Yellowjackets are undefeated when Graves posts two or more rushing touchdowns, but 1-4 otherwise. Colton Bruggers was McGaha's top target, picking up 78 receiving yards and one score.
East Wilkes' win bumped their record up to 7-3. As for Hayesville, their victory bumped their record up to 7-4.
Friday's game might be decided on the ground. East Wilkes has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 301.3 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Hayesville struggles in that department as they've been averaging 200.3 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's matchup turns into a tough fight on the ground. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other football content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps