Croatan has won three straight games at home, while White Oak has won three straight on the road dating back to last season, but those streaks won't matter much on Friday. After each having a week off, both will dust off their jerseys to face off against one another at 7:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Last Friday, everything came up roses for Croatan at home against Beddingfield as the squad secured a 37-6 win.
Croatan's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Coleman Davis, who threw for 100 yards and three touchdowns, and also picked up 30 receiving yards and a touchdown. Another rusher making a difference was Andrew Boucher, who rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown on only ten carries.
On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Croatan's defense and their nine sacks. In that department, Cutter Bryant was the leader with two. He is on a roll when it comes to sacks, as he's now sacked two or more in the last three games he's played dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, White Oak blew past Swansboro, posting a 51-6 win at home. Given the Vikings' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 121st, while the Pirates are ranked 331st), the result two weeks ago wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Joshua Smith, who rushed for 154 yards and two touchdowns on only seven carries, and also threw for 160 yards and two touchdowns on only 15 passes. His longest rush was for an incredible 75 yards.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, White Oak was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 325 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 198 rushing yards in 16 consecutive matchups dating back to last season.
White Oak's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. The picks came courtesy of Jayden Nickelberry and Yeshua Solin.
Croatan's victory bumped their record up to 4-1. As for White Oak, their win bumped their record up to an identical 4-1.
Friday's match might be decided in the on the ground. Croatan has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 151.6 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like White Oak struggles in that department as they've been averaging 352.2. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Croatan was dealt a bruising 49-0 defeat at the hands of White Oak when the teams last played back in September of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Smith, who rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown on only ten carries, and also threw for 114 yards and two touchdowns while completing 83.3% of his passes. Now that Croatan 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
