For the first time this season, North Pontotoc will have a chance to prove themselves in a conference matchup. They will welcome the New Albany Bulldogs at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with North Pontotoc sitting on four straight wins and New Albany on three.
On Friday, North Pontotoc got the win against Kossuth by a conclusive 33-13. Fans of the Vikings have seen this all before: every one of the games they've played this season has ended in a blowout of 20+ points.
Drew Winfun
| 09/26/25 @ Kossuth | 3 |
| 09/12/25 @ Alcorn Central | 4 |
| 09/05/25 vs Nettleton | 4 |
It was another big night for Drew Winfun, who threw for 230 yards and three TDs, and also rushed for 87 yards. He has been hot recently, having posted three or more passing touchdowns the last three times he's played. Dee Slaughter was Winfun's top target, picking up 86 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Meanwhile, New Albany made easy work of Pontotoc on Friday and carried off a 45-22 victory.
North Pontotoc better keep an eye on Kylen Knox. He was instrumental in New Albany's win, rushing for 180 yards and three scores while picking up 10.0 yards per carry, and also picking up 61 receiving yards. Knox showed off some serious burst, cutting upfield on a catch for 61 yards. Braden Shettles was another key signal caller, throwing for 181 yards and a pair of TDs on only 13 passes.
New Albany didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Jay Boone and Jaylan Nesbit. New Albany got some further help from William Hardy: he picked up a sack and made nine total tackles (3.0 for loss).
New Albany's win bumped their record up to 4-1. As for North Pontotoc, their victory bumped their record up to 4-0.
The upcoming contest will be a clash of competing strengths. North Pontotoc has deployed a run-first offense that has averaged 185.8 rushing yards a game. Meanwhile, New Albany has preferred to attack from the air: they average 270.6 passing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Friday? There's only one way to find out.
North Pontotoc was taken down by New Albany 50-14 in their previous meeting back in October of 2024. That matchup was all but decided by halftime, at which point the Vikings were down 29-6.
