The Ashley Screaming Eagle will head out to square off against the Topsail Pirates at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Topsail took a loss in their last contest and will be looking to turn the tables on Ashley, who comes in off a win.
Ashley's defense heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They blew past South Brunswick 42-0 on the road. Given the Screaming Eagle's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 109th, while the Cougars are ranked 284th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Jackson Eller went supernova for Ashley, rushing for 95 yards and a touchdown on only five carries, while also throwing for 120 yards and a touchdown while completing 90.9% of his passes. The dominant performance gave Eller a new career-high in rushing yards. Speaking of playmakers, who could forget Jaelan Brewington, who went all the way with a kickoff return for a touchdown.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Ashley was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 240 rushing yards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as South Brunswick only rushed for 13.
Meanwhile, Topsail and Hoggard met for a duel on Friday where Topsail had to take the L. Topsail fell 27-16 to Hoggard. The Pirates haven't had much luck with the Vikings recently, as the team's come up short the last four times they've met.
Topsail's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Damarion Smith, who rushed for 79 yards and a touchdown, and Landen Cook, who rushed for 77 yards and a touchdown.
Ashley's victory bumped their record up to 6-2. As for Topsail, their loss dropped their record down to 4-3.
Friday's game might be decided in the on the ground. Ashley has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 193.6 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Topsail struggles in that department as they've been averaging 237.3. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Ashley took their win against Topsail when the teams last played back in October of 2023 by a conclusive 30-6. In that contest, Ashley amassed a halftime lead of 24-0, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
