The Franklinton Red Rams will challenge the Wake Forest Cougars at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Franklinton's defense has only allowed 14.6 points per game this season, so Wake Forest's offense will have their work cut out for them.
Franklinton took a loss when they played away from home last Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. Their defense stepped up to hand East Wake a 13-0 shutout. The score was all tied up 0-0 at the break, but the Red Rams were the (much) better team in the second half.
Amani Blacknall
| 10/17/25 vs East Wake | 130 |
| 09/12/25 @ Louisburg | 113 |
| 08/22/25 @ Person | 60 |
| 09/05/25 vs South Granville | 44 |
| 10/03/25 vs Knightdale | 39 |
Franklinton's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Amani Blacknall, who picked up 130 receiving yards and one score. Those 130 receiving yards gave Blacknall a new career-high.
Meanwhile, Wake Forest had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 47.5 points) and they went ahead and made it three on Friday. They were the clear victors by a 48-24 margin over the Knights. Given the Cougars' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 117th, while the Knights are ranked 237th) , the win wasn't entirely unexpected.
Franklinton better focus on containing Micah Olu and Landen Perry as the pair were huge in Wake Forest's win. Olu gained 215 total yards, while Perry rushed for 120 yards and a pair of touchdowns on only six carries. Olu also rushed for 170 rushing yards, which is notable because Wake Forest is 4-1 when he posts at least 80 rushing yards, but 0-3 otherwise.
Wake Forest was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 308 rushing yards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Knightdale only rushed for 33.
The win got Wake Forest back to even at 4-4. As for Franklinton, their victory bumped their record up to 6-2.
Franklinton was dealt a bruising 42-7 loss at the hands of Wake Forest in their previous meeting back in September of 2018. Thankfully for the Red Rams, Maquel Haywood (who rushed for 128 yards and two TDs on only five carries) 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
