East Lincoln has won five straight games at home, while Hickory has won five straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Friday. The Mustangs will host the Red Tornadoes at 7:30 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
On Friday, East Lincoln was fully in charge, breezing past Foard 42-7. The contest was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 30-0.
Jaxon Dollar
| 10/10/25 @ Foard | 198 |
| 10/03/25 vs West Iredell | 103 |
| 09/26/25 @ Bunker Hill | 74 |
| 09/19/25 @ North Lincoln | 28 |
| 09/12/25 vs Bandys | 241 |
| + 3 more games |
East Lincoln's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Grant Lawless, who threw for 317 yards and three TDs while completing 72.7% of his passes, and Jaxon Dollar, who picked up 198 receiving yards and four touchdowns. With that strong performance, Dollar is now averaging an impressive 108.9 receiving yards per game.
Meanwhile, Hickory humbled West Iredell with a 44-8 victory. Given the Red Tornadoes' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 31st, while the Warriors are ranked 141st) , the win on Friday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Hickory's win came from a few key players East Lincoln will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Ronan Nieland, who picked up 88 receiving yards and a pair of scores. Maddox McRee was another key signal caller, throwing for 159 yards and three touchdowns on only 13 passes.
Hickory's run defense was locked in: West Iredell could only muster 2.5 yards per carry. The team can thank JB Young for the heroic effort on defense: he. Hickory didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 7.7.
Hickory's defense didn't let Ja'Braylan Patterson, get away unscathed either: they got into the backfield for three sacks. Max Yount was especially locked on to West Iredell's QB and sacked him twice.
East Lincoln's victory bumped their record up to 8-0. As for Hickory, their win bumped their record up to 7-1.
East Lincoln suffered a grim 42-21 defeat to Hickory in their previous matchup back in September of 2024. Thankfully for the Mustangs, Isaiah Lackey (who rushed for 164 yards and four TDs) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
