The Pender Patriots will venture away from home to square off against the South Lenoir Blue Devils at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Pender has seven straight victories, South Lenoir has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Pender will bounce into Friday's matchup after beating Southwest Onslow, who they had gone 0-4 against in their four prior meetings. The Patriots blew past the Stallions 50-14 on Friday. Considering the Patriots have won three games by more than 21 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Pender's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Jaheim Lambe led the charge by rushing for 141 yards on only eight carries, while also picking up 38 receiving yards. Another player making a difference was Austin Deal, who rushed for 136 yards on only ten carries.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Pender was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 490 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 317 rushing yards every time they've taken the field this season.
Pender didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Malcolm Baldwin and Zeke Williams. Williams got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.
Meanwhile, South Lenoir played a tough contest on Friday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They took a blow against Clinton, falling 42-14. The Blue Devils were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 35-6.
Pender's win bumped their record up to 7-0. As for South Lenoir, they now have a losing record of 3-4.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's matchup: Pender has been on an offensive roll this season, having averaged 499.3 total yards per game. It's a different story for South Lenoir, though, as they've been averaging only 193.6 total yards. Will Pender be able to march up the field at their leisure again, or will the Blue Devils flip the script? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more football content.
