The Mooresville Blue Devils will take on the Hickory Ridge Ragin' Bulls at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday. Hickory Ridge took a loss in their last game and will be looking to turn the tables on Mooresville, who comes in off a win.
Mooresville's defense heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They really took it to Cox Mill for the full four quarters, racking up a 55-0 win on the road. The result was nothing new for the Blue Devils, who have now won three matches by 46 points or more so far this season.
Mooresville got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Malachi Gwyn out in front who rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown on only six carries. The team also got some help courtesy of Brody Norman, who threw for 199 yards and two touchdowns on only 18 passes.
Mooresville's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged four passes before it was all said and done. It was truly a group effort as Kamelo Little, AJ Graham, Darian Reid, and Reid picked up one apiece. Graham is also on a roll when it comes to interceptions, as he's now snagged at least one in the last three games he's played dating back to last season.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Mooresville was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 255 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 165 rushing yards in four consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, Hickory Ridge was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their sixth straight loss dating back to last season. They took a 31-14 bruising from A.L. Brown. The game was a 7-7 toss-up at halftime, but the Ragin' Bulls couldn't quite close it out.
Despite the defeat, Hickory Ridge had strong showings from David Johnson, who rushed for 80 yards and a touchdown, and Joell Wooten, who picked up 109 receiving yards. The dominant performance gave Johnson a new career-high in rushing yards. Ezekiel Kelly got in on the action too, returning a kick for a touchdown.
Mooresville's win bumped their record up to 3-1. As for Hickory Ridge, their loss dropped their record down to 0-5.
Saturday's contest might be decided in the trenches. Mooresville has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 240 rushing yards per game. It's a different story for Hickory Ridge, though, as they've been averaging only 66.2. How will they fare against such a dominant running game?
Mooresville beat Hickory Ridge 42-35 when the teams last played back in September of 2023. Will Mooresville repeat their success, or does Hickory Ridge have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
