Western Harnett hasn't had much luck against Pine Forest recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Western Harnett Eagles will square off against the Pine Forest Trojans at 7:00 p.m.
Western Harnett is headed into Thursday's contest looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their 14th straight game dating back to last season on Friday. They were dealt a 42-6 loss at the hands of Harnett Central. While losing is never fun, the Eagles can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 366th, while the Trojans are ranked 168th).
Meanwhile, Pine Forest sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 24-22 win over Westover on Friday. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Trojans.
Pine Forest can attribute much of their success to Jaidon Moore, who rushed for 24 yards and two touchdowns, and also threw for 113 yards and a touchdown. Moore was no stranger to the big play, turning on the jets for a run that went for 50 yards.
Western Harnett's defeat dropped their record down to 0-4. As for Pine Forest, the victory got them back to even at 2-2.
Thursday's game might be decided in the on the ground. Western Harnett has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 181.5 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Pine Forest struggles in that department as they've been averaging 165.5. It's looking like Thursday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Western Harnett was taken down by Pine Forest 59-0 when the teams last played back in September of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Pine Forest's Jamari Jones, who rushed for 93 yards and three touchdowns on only seven carries. Now that Western Harnett knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
