By CHRIS HOBBS
HobbsDailyReport.com
Previewing tonight’s varsity football games (all statistical references are unofficial totals)… updated to correct last time Maiden played North Lincoln:
SOUTH FORK 2A
BANDYS (2-5, 0-3) at EAST LINCOLN (4-3, 3-0), 7:30 p.m.
East Lincoln goes for its fifth straight win since a 0-3 start and for its seventh straight over the Trojans.
The Mustangs — who have also won 12 of the last 13 matchups — still trail in the all-time series 22-25-1, and tonight’s game is the 49th in series.
Bandys RB Ethan Howard is closing in on a 1,000-yard season (needs 123 yards), and the Trojans got starting QB Lake Hojnacki back into the lineup last week. He had not played this season while recovering from a broken collarbone.
RBs Chandler Jones (103 carries, 513 yards) and Lucas McConnell (30-275) and QB Chase Jones (50-94-7, 624 yards) have sparked the Mustangs in their win streak.
The Trojans haven’t won at East Lincoln since 2011 (26-21) when RB Dominque Young ran for 194 yards.
This is Bandys’ 20th game at East Lincoln and the Trojans are 9-9-1 on the road against the Mustangs.
MAIDEN (7-0, 3-0) at NORTH LINCOLN (2-5, 1-2), 7:30 p.m.
Maiden needs a win to match last season’s win total, continue in first place and to post head coach Will Byrne’s 20th career victory.
It’s the first battle with the Knights since a 28-7 home win in 2012 when RB Grant Yowe ran for two TDs and QB Jack McRee ran for one and threw a TD pass to Alex White as well.
Maiden won 52-6 the last time they played at North Lincoln (2011) and that win was led by QB Matt Johnson.
Maiden is 8-0 all-time against North Lincoln, including 3-0 at North Lincoln.
QB Keygan Mayfield continues to lead the Blue Devils (60-602 rushing, 64-108-3, 867 yards passing).
North Lincoln has two key offensive threats, RB Clayton Cribb (108-801) and QB Reed McRorie (85-150-6, 1,397 yards).
NEWTON-CONOVER (6-1, 3-0) at LAKE NORMAN CHARTER (3-4, 0-3), 7:30 p.m.
Newton-Conover goes on the road with its explosive offense to play the Knights for the first time in varsity football.
It may not be pretty, as the Red Devils appear to have found a groove behind QB Shamar Baker (68-379 rushing, 96-141-4, 1,367 yards passing, 10 TDs in last two games), RB Tylor Stinson (90-865) and WR Jaheim Mullen (31 catches, 352 yards).
The Knights will be outnumbered and hard-pressed to deal with Newton-Conover’s overall team speed.
A Newton-Conover wins gets the Red Devils to seven wins for the second time under head coach Matt Beam. His first Red Devils team (2014) won seven.
Newton-Conover, tied for first place with Maiden and East Lincoln, last won a league title (share) in 2011 in Brint Russell’s first season as head coach.
LINCOLNTON (2-5, 1-2) at WEST LINCOLN (3-4, 1-2), 7:30 p.m.
The Lincoln County rivalry game features three of the top RBs in the South Fork 2A.
Lincolnton’s Tyshawn Harris cleared 1,000 yards rushing last week with a big game against Bandys, while Nakathan Phansook (144-841) and Brendan Ikard (104-773) lead the Rebels.
Terrell McClain, the Wolves QB, has thrown for 649 yards as the Wolves try to get more wins. They haven’t won fewer than five games since going 4-7 in 1999.
Tonight’s game is No. 90 for Rebels head coach Tom Sain, 40-49 in his eighth season at West Lincoln.
NORTHWESTERN FOOTHILLS 2A
HIBRITEN (7-0, 2-0) at DRAUGHN (2-6, 1-2), 7:30 p.m.
It’s the first varsity football meeting between the Panthers and the Wildcats, and Hibriten should be heavily favored.
RB McKinley Witherspoon, nearing a 1,000-yard season (45-769), leads the Hibriten offense.
A victory would give Hibriten at least eight wins in eight of the last 11 seasons and even the Panthers’ record in games in Burke County at 8-8. The Panthers are 1-3 at Freedom, 3-0 at Patton and 3-5 at East Burke.
BUNKER HILL (0-8, 0-3) at EAST BURKE (1-6, 0-2), 7:30 p.m.
The Bears and Cavs meet for the first time since 2012 and fifth time in a series that is even at 2-2. They’ve played twice before in Icard with each team winning once.
Bunker Hill’s previous win at East Burke came in 2011, a 27-14 victory led by RBs Reggie Davis and Justin Lynch. Davis ran 32 times for 234 yards and four TDs and Lynch added 140 yards on 19 carries.
RB Grant Fulbright leads this year’s Cavs (83-470).
As the regular season nears its end, the Bears need a win to avoid the second winless year in four years and the school’s third all-time.
Bunker Hill has won once in its last 19 games, while East Burke is 3-15 in its last 18 games.
PATTON (6-2, 3-0) at WEST IREDELL (4-3, 2-0), 7:30 p.m.
A season after winning eight games, Patton has a chance to reach seven wins for the third time in program history (10 years).
The Panthers have played well even though they lost star QB Joe Eakin to a season-ending injury early in the second.
Ty Causby has been under center for Patton and has 99 carries for 569 yards.
This is Patton’s first battle with West Iredell and actually the first time the Panthers have ever played varsity football in Iredell County.
Patton leads the Northwestern Foothills 2A by a half-game over Hibriten and West Iredell.
A win tonight would be 20 for head coach Tom Eanes at Patton (19-24) and No. 146 in a 29-year career.
NORTHWESTERN 3A-4A
FREEDOM (5-2, 2-1) at SOUTH CALDWELL (1-6, 1-2), 7:30 p.m.
Freedom, coming off a loss to Alexander Central that knocked it into a three-way tie for second place in the Northwestern 3A-4A – with Watauga and West Caldwell – goes for its fifth straight win in the series.
The Patriots have also won five of the last six games and 22 of 27 since the 1980 season.
Getting 221 rushing yards from graduated RB Nigel Moore and 121 yards and three TDs from C.J. Hayden, who returns, the Patriots rolled 55-27 last season in Hudson.
South Caldwell got head coach Marc Kirkpatrick his first career win last week, winning at McDowell and that could get the Spartans into the state playoffs. The league has only two 4A teams and the one with the best league record earns a postseason bid.
On Homecoming Night in Hudson, South Caldwell has to contend with Freedom QB Jayden Birchfield (118-163-3, 1,407 passing yards) and his favorite target of late, WR Jaxon McMahon (46-516).
RB Dustin Herman leads the Spartans. He gained 130 yards and scored twice in last week’s victory at McDowell.
Freedom is chasing its sixth straight postseason bid and eighth in nine seasons (that would be nine but the Patriots missed the 2011 playoffs via the too-many-ejections rule).
WEST CALDWELL (5-2, 2-1) at HICKORY (4-4, 1-2), 7:30 p.m.
The Warriors and Red Tornadoes meet for the seventh time in a short series that began with a game in 1989. Hickory has won five of the six games played.
This is the first meeting since 2008, when Hickory won 35-20 in Lenoir as RB-WR Trevin Parks ran four times for 175 yards and for TDs of 55 and 60 yards to spark the Red Tornadoes.
The game on Homecoming night at Barger Stadium features four of the top offensive threats in the league, WR Jaekwon Staton (27-526) and QB Derrien Phillips (93-700 rushing, 88-179-8, 1,448) for the Red Tornadoes and RB Taye Dula (110-887) and QB Kaleb Dula (636 yards passing) for the Warriors.
WATAUGA (6-1, 2-1) at ST. STEPHENS (2-5, 1-2), 7:30 p.m.
QB Anderson Castle (91-829 rushing, 522 yards passing) leads Watauga, which comes in sharing second place with Freedom and West Caldwell.
The Pioneers have won five straight over the Indians, including 56-17 in Boone last season when graduated QB Hamilton Castle had 12 carries for 187 yards rushing and accounted for four TDs.
The Indians won the first four games of the series, starting in 1996, but they haven’t won since.
RB Xavian King (116-609) had 32 carries last week, RB Jamar Brown has 486 rushing yards and QB Justin Bullock has 1,299 yards of total offense.
A win tonight in Hickory would give Watauga head coach Ryan Habich his 40th in his five seasons guiding the Pioneers and his 90th career win.
McDOWELL (1-6, 0-3) at ALEXANDER CENTRAL (7-0, 3-0), 7:30 p.m.
The Cougars come off a win that got them first place – beating Freedom in Morganton for the first time – and will play the Titans for the first time since 2008.
Alexander Central has won five straight in the series, three of those in Taylorsville, and has another quick-to-fire-on-all-cylinders offense led by QB Gunnar Anderson (72-561 rushing, 722 yards passing).
McDowell leads 15-9 in their games since 1985.
The last time they met in Taylorsville (2008, Alexander Central won 35-25), QB Kyle Bradshaw ran 26 times for 179 yards and three TDs for the Cougars.
Alexander Central, enjoying Homecoming Night, must win to stay alone in first place. The Cougars are a game up on Freedom, West Caldwell and Watauga.
One more win will give Cougars head coach Butch Carter his eighth team with eight or more wins in a 17-year career. A former head coach at South Caldewll, he’s 14-5 since taking the job at Alexander Central.