The Butler Bulldogs will face off against the West Charlotte Lions at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are strolling into their contests after big wins in their previous games.
Butler's defense heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They took their game with ease, bagging a 28-0 victory over North Mecklenburg. The contest marked the Bulldogs' most dominant win of the season.
DeMaurion Thomas-Wright
| 10/10/25 vs North Mecklenburg | 2 |
| 08/29/25 @ Corvian Community | 2 |
| 08/23/25 vs Olympic | 2 |
Butler's success was spearheaded by the efforts of DeMaurion Thomas-Wright, who gained 181 total yards and two touchdowns, and Donovan Pollard, who gained 70 total yards and two touchdowns. Thomas-Wright also punched in two rushing touchdowns, which is notable because the Bulldogs are undefeated when he posts at least two rushing touchdowns, but 1-3 otherwise.
Meanwhile, West Charlotte faced Independence in a battle between two of the state's top teams last Friday. The Lions were the clear victors by a 31-7 margin over the Patriots. The result was nothing new for the Lions, who have now won five matchups by 23 points or more so far this season.
West Charlotte's win came from a few key players Butler will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Jamouri Nichols, who threw for 226 yards and three touchdowns, and also punched in one score on the ground. Sincere Gray helped Nichols out on the ground, rushing for 115 yards and one TD on only nine carries.
West Charlotte was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 252 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 232 rushing yards in three consecutive games.
On the defensive side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to West Charlotte's defense and their five sacks. Independence's QB won't forget Kayden Smith anytime soon given he sacked him twice. Thanks to that big game, Smith is now up to 7.5 sacks on the season.
West Charlotte pushed their record up to 5-2 with the victory, which was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season. Those home wins came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 4.0 points on average over those games. As for Butler, they now have a winning record of 4-3.
Everything came up roses for Butler against West Charlotte in their previous meeting back in August of 2022, as the squad secured a 27-0 victory. Will the Bulldogs repeat their success, or do the Lions have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
