New Hanover and Clayton squared off in some playoff action on Friday, but New Hanover had to settle for second. They had to suffer through a 29-0 loss at the hands of the Comets. While losing is never fun, the Wildcats can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 143rd, while the Comets are ranked 14th).
New Hanover's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Javonie Webb, who rushed for 102 yards on only 11 carries, and Tony Clark-Nelson, who rushed for 46 yards.
Aiden Smalls continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines for Clayton, rushing for 131 yards and two TDs on only 13 carries, while also throwing for 96 yards and one touchdown. That's the most rushing yards Smalls has posted since back in August. Noah Smith was another key player, rushing for 130 yards and one score while picking up 7.6 yards per carry.
New Hanover's defeat dropped their record down to 6-6. As for Clayton, the win (which was their fourth in a row) raised their record to 9-2.
New Hanover does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for Clayton, they will host D.H. Conley at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams might be coming in a bit winded given these two teams combined for 919 yards in their previous games.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps