The Pisgah Dragons will face off against the Raleigh Lions at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are still undefeated after five-games, but that won't be the case come Friday.
Pisgah's defense heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They breezed by Richland on the road to the tune of 31-0. The 31-point effort marked the Dragons' lowest-scoring match of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.
Pisgah found their leader in underclassman Ethan Prater, who rushed for 106 yards and a touchdown, and also picked up 40 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Pisgah wouldn't let Richland keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force three fumbles. Pisgah can thank Noah Spears and Tavorian Smith for forcing all of them. What's more, Spears also racked up 18 rushing yards, the mosthe's had since back in October of 2023.
Pisgah was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 345 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 205 rushing yards in nine consecutive contests dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Raleigh). They strolled past Jefferson Davis County with points to spare on Friday, taking the game 27-12.
Raleigh's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Jamarcus Mccullum, who rushed for 59 yards and two touchdowns on only seven carries. Another rusher making a difference was Jaylin Owens, who rushed for 95 yards and a touchdown on only nine carries.
Raleigh's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. The picks came courtesy of Brendan Harper and Mccullum. Another thorn in Jefferson Davis County's side was Jamarion Owens, who made seven total tackles (4.0 for loss).
Pisgah's victory bumped their record up to 5-0. As for Raleigh, they pushed their record up to 5-0 with the win, which was their eighth straight on the road dating back to last season.
Friday's game might be decided in the on the ground. Pisgah has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 296.6 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Raleigh struggles in that department as they've been averaging 295. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Pisgah was taken down by Raleigh 60-0 in their previous matchup back in September of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Raleigh's Deuce Carter, who rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown on only six carries. Now that Pisgah 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
