The Western Guilford Hornets will head out to take on the Ragsdale Tigers at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Western Guilford is coming into the matchup on a four-game losing streak.
Western Guilford is headed into the game out to prove that what happened against Northern Guilford on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Western Guilford was beaten by Northern Guilford 49-14. While losing is never fun, the Hornets can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 113th, while the Nighthawks are ranked 18th).
Despite the loss, Western Guilford got top-tier performance from Elijah Hayes, who picked up 46 receiving yards and a touchdown, and also rushed for 90 yards on only nine carries.
Western Guilford wouldn't let Northern Guilford keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Western Guilford can thank Nas Holmes and Xavier Dixon for forcing both of them. Western Guilford got some further help from Daniel Williams: he picked up a sack and made 13 total tackles.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Ragsdale). They blew past Southwest Guilford 44-7 on Friday. The victory was some much needed relief for the Tigers as it spelled an end to their six-game losing streak.
Fabian Diggs was his usual excellent self, rushing for 178 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 8.1 yards per carry. That's the most rushing yards he has posted since back in September of 2023. The team also got some help courtesy of Braylon Louis, who threw for 193 yards and two touchdowns while completing 71.4% of his passes.
Ragsdale was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 255 rushing yards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Southwest Guilford only rushed for 75.
Ragsdale didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Devin Chandler and Maurice Dines Jr..
Western Guilford now has a losing record at 4-5. As for Ragsdale, their win ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 3-6.
Friday's match might be decided in the on the ground. Western Guilford has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 196.8 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Ragsdale struggles in that department as they've been averaging 182.9. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Western Guilford came up short against Ragsdale in their previous meeting back in October of 2023, falling 17-13. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Diggs, who rushed for 130 yards and a touchdown. Now that Western Guilford knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
