Smoky Mountain hasn't had much luck against Pisgah recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Smoky Mountain Mustangs will challenge the Pisgah Bears at 7:30 p.m. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Smoky Mountain sitting on five straight victories and Pisgah on four.
Last Friday, Smoky Mountain made easy work of Franklin and carried off a 35-14 win. The Mustangs might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won three matches by 21 points or more this season.
Smoky Mountain had a senior duo take command as Jarek Jones rushed for 125 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 7.4 yards per carry and Ayden Johnson rushed for 196 yards and two touchdowns. Johnson is on a roll when it comes to rushing touchdowns, as he's now punched in two or more in the last five games he's played.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Smoky Mountain was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 330 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 217 rushing yards in six consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Pisgah sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 10-7 victory over Tuscola on Friday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Bears have posted against the Mountaineers since October 14, 2016.
Aaron Clark was his usual excellent self, throwing for 141 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 76 yards.
Pisgah didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Matthew Mehaffey and Mason Putnam.
Pisgah's victory bumped their record up to 8-2. As for Smoky Mountain, their win bumped their record up to 7-3.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Smoky Mountain has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 345 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Pisgah struggles in that department as they've been averaging 155.4. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Smoky Mountain came up short against Pisgah in their previous matchup back in September, falling 31-21. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Clark, who rushed for 99 yards, and also threw for 191 yards and a touchdown while completing 76.2% of his passes. Now that Smoky Mountain 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
