The Mooresville Blue Devils will face off against the Statesville Greyhounds at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Statesville will be up against a hot Mooresville team: the squad just extended their winning streak to four. The Blue Devils really took it to Davie County for the full four quarters, racking up a 42-9 victory. Given the Blue Devils' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked tenth, while the War Eagles are ranked 54th) , the win on Friday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Brody Norman
| 09/05/25 vs A.L. Brown | 162.4 |
| 10/03/25 @ South Iredell | 157.5 |
| 10/17/25 @ Davie County | 142 |
| 10/10/25 vs North Iredell | 124.7 |
| 09/19/25 @ East Forsyth | 117.2 |
| + 3 more games |
Mooresville's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Brody Norman led the charge by throwing for 251 yards and three touchdowns on only 19 passes, while also rushing for 38 yards. Norman's passing game has become a key predictor of the Blue Devils' success: the team is undefeated when his passer rating is 110 or higher, but only 1-2 otherwise. Another back making a difference was Ja'Darius McCombs, who rushed for 102 yards and three TDs.
On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Mooresville's defense and their 11 sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Kamdon Gillespie and Charles Sayre, who racked up five sacks between them. Mooresville got some further help from Maddox Blackburn: he picked up a sack and made 12 total tackles (2.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Statesville, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Friday. They strolled past South Iredell with points to spare on Friday, taking the game 47-29. Considering the Greyhounds' offense had been struggling lately, the high-scoring outing was a much-needed turnaround.
Statesville found their leader in sophomore Jaikoda Harrington, who rushed for 52 yards and three scores, and also threw for 135 yards and one touchdown on only ten passes. 103 of Harrington's passing yards were hauled in by Paul Cauthen Jr.
Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something Statesville proved: they limited South Iredell to a paltry 2.2 yards per carry. While two picked up at least seven total tackles, Isaiah Crosland stood above the rest. He picked up three sacks and made seven total tackles. Statesville hasn't allowed more than 1.2 yards per carry in three consecutive matchups.
Statesville didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. Cauthen Jr picked up that interception and then proceeded to rub salt in the wound by taking it back the other way for a touchdown. Crosland was another major factor on D, picking up three sacks and making seven total tackles.
Statesville's win was their first in the conference, bumping their conference record up to 1-2 and their overall record up to 6-2. As for Mooresville, their victory bumped their record up to an identical 6-2.
Friday's contest might be decided on the ground. Mooresville has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 178 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Statesville struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 149.5 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's game turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Everything came up roses for Mooresville against Statesville when the teams last played back in September of 2016, as the squad secured a 42-0 win. Will the Blue Devils repeat their success, or do the Greyhounds have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
