With a playoff game on the line, East Wilkes rose to the challenge on Friday. They had just enough and edged the North Rowan Cavaliers out 33-30. Winning may never get old, but the Cardinals sure are getting used to it with their fifth in a row.
Austin Nash was his usual excellent self, rushing for 101 yards and a touchdown on only six carries, while also picking up 75 receiving yards and a touchdown. He got the majority of those rushing yards when he took off on a run that went for an incredible 68 yards. Phoenix Blackburn was another key player, throwing for 96 yards and two touchdowns.
East Wilkes was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 275 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 192 rushing yards in five consecutive matches.
Despite the loss, North Rowan still got an impressive performance from Jeremiah Alford, who rushed for 116 yards and two touchdowns, and also threw for 108 yards and two touchdowns. North Rowan is 6-3 when Alford posts 80 or more rushing yards, but 1-2 otherwise. North Rowan also got help from Emari Russell, who showed off his sure hands for 86 receiving yards.
East Wilkes has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven contests, which provided a nice bump to their 10-2 record this season. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 33.0 points per game. As for North Rowan, they have been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four games, which put a noticeable dent in their 7-5 record this season.
East Wilkes has already played their next matchup, a 38-14 defeat against Mountain Heritage on the 29th. North Rowan does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
