After each having a week off, the Forest Hills Yellow Jackets and the North Stanly Comets will dust off their jerseys to challenge one another at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Forest Hills took a loss when they played away from home on September 6th, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed two weeks ago. They claimed a resounding 36-7 win over Community School of Davidson at home. The Yellow Jackets' offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.
Rodney Smith was his usual excellent self, rushing for 68 yards and a touchdown on only nine carries. He was even better on defense, picking up a sack, forcing a fumble, and forcing a fumble in addition to snagging two interceptions which he returned one-yard for a touchdown.
Forest Hills' defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged four passes before it was all said and done. Smith led the group effort, picking up two of those interceptions all by himself.
Meanwhile, North Stanly has relied on a stalwart defense averaging 16.75 points allowed per game, but that average took a hit two weeks ago. In a tight match that could have gone either way, they made off with a 38-37 victory over West Stanly. Given the Comets' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 133rd, while the Colts are ranked 334th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Jaylon Mckoy was a one-man wrecking crew for North Stanly as he picked up 125 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Mckoy also deserves a shoutout for his performance on D, making seven total tackles and defending two passes. Charlie Shaver was another key player, throwing for 195 yards and three touchdowns.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, North Stanly was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 281 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in October of 2023.
The win got Forest Hills back to even at 2-2. As for North Stanly, their victory bumped their record up to 3-1.
Saturday's game might be decided in the on the ground. Forest Hills has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 165 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like North Stanly struggles in that department as they've been averaging 180.5. It's looking like Saturday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Everything went Forest Hills' way against North Stanly in their previous matchup back in September of 2023, as Forest Hills made off with a 35-13 win. Will Forest Hills repeat their success, or does North Stanly have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
