The Washington County Panthers will face off against the Martin County Gators at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Washington County has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the game with four straight losses, while Martin County will come in with five straight victories.
Washington County is headed into the matchup out to prove that what happened against Perquimans on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Washington County had to suffer through a 46-12 loss at the hands of Perquimans. The Panthers were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 32-6.
Although Washington County took the loss, they still got scores from Zedakiah Simpson and Ja Quay Brown.
Even if they lost, Washington County's defensive line still kept up the pressure with five sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Franklin Stevens and Brandon Spruill, who racked up four sacks between them.
Meanwhile, Martin County owes their defense a big pat on the back after their performance on Friday. Everything went their way against Gates County as Martin County made off with a 25-0 win. The result was nothing new for the Gators, who have now won three contests by 25 points or more so far this season.
Jah Sheppard was his usual excellent self, rushing for 173 yards and four touchdowns on only 15 carries. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 2.2 rushing touchdowns per game.
Martin County didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Kel'Javious Moore and Jordan Matthewson. Moore is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made nine or more in the last six games he's played dating back to last season.
Martin County was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 222 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 185 rushing yards in five consecutive matches.
Washington County's defeat dropped their record down to 2-4. As for Martin County, their victory bumped their record up to 5-1.
Washington County and Martin County were neck-and-neck in their previous meeting back in October of 2023, but Washington County came up empty-handed after a 35-34 loss. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Martin County's Kwahli Basnight, who threw for 145 yards and two touchdowns on only nine passes, and also rushed for 64 yards and a touchdown. Now that Washington County 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
