Northern Nash has enjoyed a two-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will take on the Southern Nash Firebirds at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
With a playoff game on the line, Northern Nash rose to the challenge on Friday. They blew past Richlands 56-28 at home. The score at the end of the third wound up being the final score as Northern Nash just coasted through the last quarter.
Northern Nash's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Elijay Pitt, who threw for 220 yards and three touchdowns while completing 77.8% of his passes, and also punched in a touchdown on the ground. Trey Battle was in the mix as well, providing Northern Nash with two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Southern Nash had already won six in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 32.3 points), and they went ahead and made it seven on Friday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Croatan 49-15 at home. Given Southern Nash's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 51st, while Croatan is ranked 260th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Southern Nash's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Luke Faulkner, who rushed for 83 yards and a touchdown. The team also got some help courtesy of Tylik Mitchell, who rushed for 78 yards and a touchdown.
Northern Nash's victory was their 16th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 10-1. They've been dominating during the games in that stretch too, as they've won by an average of 31.5 points. As for Southern Nash, their win bumped their record up to 10-1.
We should be in store for an exciting game Friday as Northern Nash and Southern Nash have no problem gaining yardage. Northern Nash has been on an offensive roll this season, having averaged 400.6 total yards per game. However, it's not like Southern Nash struggles in that department as they've been averaging 352.5 per game. With a pair of commanding offenses duking it out, the defenses are going to have their work cut out for them. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
Northern Nash came up short against Southern Nash when the teams last played back in October, falling 28-21. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Southern Nash's Mitchell, who rushed for 222 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 9.3 yards per carry. Now that Northern Nash knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
