After each having a week off, the East Columbus Gators and the North Stokes Vikings will shake off the cobwebs and hit the field against one another at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. East Columbus' offense hasn't had much luck over their past three contests, but Friday's matchup will give them a chance to turn things around.
East Columbus managed to slip by Lakewood the last time these teams faced off, but didn't have those same answers this time around. The Gators were outmatched by the Leopards and fell 36-0. The shutout was out of character for the Gators seeing as the last time the team failed to score was back in September.
Meanwhile, North Stokes hadn't done well against South Stokes recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way last Friday. The Vikings came out on top in a nail-biter against the Sauras, sneaking past 14-12. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Vikings.
North Stokes' win came from a few key players East Columbus will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Gavin Hernandez, who picked up 166 receiving yards. Those 166 receiving yards gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Jackson Bodenhamer, who picked up 43 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns.
North Stokes didn't let much get past them through the air: they limited South Stokes to a completion percentage of just 50%. The Vikings are 2-1 when they limit the passing game like that.
North Stokes didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. Aiden Bennett was the real danger to the passing game, picking up three interceptions all by himself.
North Stokes' record is now 4-6. As for East Columbus, their loss dropped their record down to 2-8.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
