Hoke County hasn't had much luck against Pinecrest recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Bucks will head out on the road to take on the Patriots at 7:30 p.m. Hoke County has given up an average of 26.4 points per game this season, but Friday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Hoke County is headed into the contest out to prove that what happened against Richmond Senior on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. The Bucks were outmatched by the Raiders and fell 48-17. While losing is never fun, the Bucks can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 172nd, while the Raiders are ranked 20th).
Meanwhile, Pinecrest waltzed into their game on Friday with six straight wins... but they left with seven. They blew past the Trojans 57-30. The Patriots' offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.
Hoke County better focus on containing Najee Gillis and Dayton Knight as the pair were huge in Pinecrest's win. Gillis threw for 269 yards and five TDs while completing 82.4% of his passes, while Knight rushed for 98 yards and three touchdowns. Those five passing touchdowns gave Gillis a new career-high. Pinecrest's leading receiver RJ Williams was Gillis' top target yet again, picking up 86 receiving yards and a pair of scores.
Pinecrest was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 220 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 182 rushing yards in five consecutive matchups.
Pinecrest's record is now 7-1. As for Hoke County, their loss dropped their record down to 2-6.
Hoke County suffered a grim 46-26 defeat to Pinecrest in their previous matchup back in October of 2024. Thankfully for the Bucks, Zymire Spencer (who rushed for 244 yards and three TDs while picking up 13.6 yards per carry) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
