Union hasn't had much luck against North Duplin recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Union Spartans and the North Duplin Rebels are set to duel.
Union is headed into Friday's contest looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their 12th straight game dating back to last season on Friday. They were beaten by Rosewood 46-18.
Despite the loss, Union saw an underclassman step up: Tobias Cromartie rushed for 193 yards and three touchdowns. Cromartie was no stranger to the big play, taking off on a dash that went for 66 yards.
Meanwhile, North Duplin put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They strolled past Lakewood with points to spare, taking the game 43-24. The Rebels pushed the score to 36-12 by the end of the third, a deficit the Leopards cut but never quite recovered from.
Carell Phillips was his usual excellent self, rushing for 252 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 10.5 yards per carry, and also catching a touchdown. Those 252 rushing yards gave him a new career-high.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: North Duplin was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 383 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 161 rushing yards in 18 consecutive matchups dating back to last season.
North Duplin didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Anthony Kornegay and Garris Warren.
Union's defeat dropped their record down to 0-7. As for North Duplin, their victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 6-0.
Union was taken down by North Duplin 49-8 in their previous matchup back in October of 2023. Thankfully for Union, Dujuan Armwood (who rushed for 225 yards and three touchdowns on only ten carries) 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
