HS FOOTBALL PREVIEWS: Trojans’ Howard goes for 3,000 career rushing yards

Editor’s note: All statistical totals referenced are unofficial and historical information is from research and files of HobbsDailyReport.com that dates back to the 1980 season (or before).

By CHRIS HOBBS

HobbsDailyReport.com

SOUTH FORK 2A

LINCOLNTON (1-5, 0-2) at BANDYS (5-1, 2-0), 7:30 p.m.

Bandys RB Ethan Howard needs three yards to reach 3,000 for his career as the Trojans play their first homecoming game under new head coach Tom Eanes.

Howard’s unofficial career totals are 448 carries for 2,997 yards in his fourth season on the varsity that includes 762 yards on 81 carries and 10 rushing TDs. He has 29 career rushing scores and 16 yard of 100 or more yards.

Bandys shares first place with East Lincoln and North Lincoln.

The Wolves have beaten Bandys five straight times, including 42-21 last season in Lincolnton.

Bandys’ last win in the series was 29-0 at Bandys in 2004 when Chris Spade ran for 114 yards and two TDs and Andrew Fearheiley kicked field goals of 46 and 49 yards.

NEWTON-CONOVER (3-3, 1-1) at WEST LINCOLN (5-1, 1-1), 7:30 p.m.

A week after winning at Maiden, the Rebels chase another rare victory when they battle the Red Devils.

Newton-Conover is 23-3 against West Lincoln, which includes a 58-8 win in Gurley Stadium last season. West Lincoln beat Newton-Conover 24-21 two years ago at West Lincoln but the only other series wins are 27-18 at West Lincoln in 2003 and 48-19, also at West Lincoln, in 2013.

The game features three of the top rushers in the South Fork 2A – Allen Wilfong (108-783 yards, leads the league) for the Red Devils and Nakathan Phanshook (04-646, 9 TDs) and Brendon Ikard (69-593, 6 TDs) for the Rebels.

MAIDEN (4-2, 0-2) at LAKE NORMAN CHARTER (2-4, 0-2), 7:30 p.m.

QB Bain Sipe (75-127-1 for 1,292 yards, 12 TDs) leads the Blue Devils as they try to snap a two-game skid.

Maiden meets the Knights for only the second time, winning 64-14 in Maiden last season.

Blue Devils WR Dylan Abernathy (26-514, 5 TDs) is the top receiver in the league at 85.6 yards per game and Montrell Stinson is fourth in the conference (21-405, 67.6 yards per game, 5 TDs).

Lake Norman Charter has lost three straight games.

QB Jeff Womack leads the Knights, throwing for all of his stats in the last three games (27-66-9 for 431 yards) and WR Davis Wilder has 14 catches for 328 yards.

NORTH LINCOLN (4-2, 2-0) at EAST LINCOLN (4-2, 2-0), 7:30 p.m.

The winner helps break a tie for first place in the South Fork, as the Knights and Mustangs share the top spot with Bandys.

The Knights have three straight after losing to then-unbeaten Alexander Central, primarily riding a running game that features Clayton Cribb (91-603, 5 TDs) and Jake Soorus (45-492, 6 TDs).

East Lincoln QB Chase Jones is second in the league in passing – 58-102-2 for 880 yards and a league-high 13 scoring passes – and his primary target has been Sidney Dollar (20-394, 8 TDs). RB Cole Barber leads the Mustangs’ ground game at 57.6 yards per game.

If Lincolnton beats Bandys, the game winner will be alone in first place. If Bandys wins, it will remain tied for first place with the game winner.

If East Lincoln and Bandys both win, they’ll have a showdown next Friday night at 7:30 p.m. at Bandys for the league lead.

NORTHWESTERN FOOTHILLS 2A

BUNKER HILL (0-7, 0-2) at DRAUGHN (0-7, 0-2), 7:30 p.m.

A first-year head coach – Chris Powell of Draughn or Patrick Clark of Bunker Hill – will pick up career victory No. 1 in a league game on homecoming night at Draughn.

The Bears, led by RB Rhaeem Carson, fell 64-29 last week to Fred T. Foard and they have been outscored 351-41.

Draughn QB Braxton Cox is setting school records this season for passing. Unofficially, he is 108-of-204 for 1,420 yards with 14 interceptions and four TDs and RB Tyler McKinney is the Wildcats’ leading rusher (98-279, 8 TDs).

This is the sixth Bears-Wildcats game and Draughn has won four straight since Bunker Hill won the first game 41-20 in Claremont in 2009.

Draughn won 28-21 in overtime in 2012 and 35-18 in 2010 in the Bears’ other trips to Draughn.

HIBRITEN (6-0, 1-0) at FRED T. FOARD (3-4, 2-0), 7:30 p.m.

The Tigers face a major challenge when they attempt to stop Hibriten’s winning streak at 22 games.

The Panthers were 16-0 last season and won the league title and state 2AA champion. They’re again led by RB McKinley Witherspoon and QB Jaylen Scott, and they’ve outscored opponents this season, 329-52.

Foard, coming off a nine-win season, had a rough start to the season but has rebounded with three straight wins to share first place with West Iredell.

RB Corey Siemer and QB Jack Colosimo have led a normally run-oriented offense – Colosimo has no TD passes yet this season – and they average more than 200 rushing yards per game together.

Siemer, unofficially, needs 76 yards to reach 1,000 for the season and Colosimo has 569 on 102 carries. Siemer has 11 rushing TDs and Colosimo has six.

Hibriten has won three straight in the series, by a combined 151-13, and the Panthers and Tigers have played 21 times since 1985 (Hibriten 11 wins, Foard 10 wins).

PATTON (3-4, 1-1) at EAST BURKE (1-5, 0-1), 7:30 p.m.

RB Bryson Ratliff (92-380, 3 TDs) leads Patton as it plays East Burke for the 10^th time.

The Panthers have won two straight, both at home, over the Cavs and the series is tied at 5-5.

RB Josh Moore (119-598, 5 TDs) is averaging just shy of 100 yards rushing per game for East Burke, which has lost five straight since beating West Caldwell to open the season.

Patton, 2-2 on the road this season, beat the Cavs 63-0 last year and 20-18 the year before that.

East Burke needs a victory to avoid slipping into a last place tie with the loser of the Bunker Hill-Draughn game.

NORTHWESTERN 3A-4A

FREEDOM (5-1, 2-0) at ALEXANDER CENTRAL (5-1 1-1), 7:30 p.m.

Freedom needs a victory over the Cougars, who were hammered 35-0 last week by Watauga in Boone, to stay at least tied for the conference lead.

The Patriots’ passing game has been electrifying, as QB Jayden Birchfield (92-136-3 for 1,399 yards, 15 TDs) is throwing for 233.1 yards per game. He has three big-time targets, Dezmond Caldwell (33-528, 8 TDs), Christian Fox (25-379, 6 TDs) and Jaxon McMahon (24-322, 1 TD).

The Cougars have scored 269 points this season, using a variety of players in their running attack, and they come in tied for third place with Hickory, St. Stephens and South Caldwell.

Freedom and Alexander Central have battled 27 times since 1985 with the Patriots winning 22 times.

The Cougars won 33-27 in Morganton last season – after having lost 13 straight there – and the Patriots last won in Taylorsville in 2011 (29-10).

WATAUGA (6-0, 2-0) at HICKORY (3-3, 1-1), 7:30 p.m.

Watauga comes to Barger Stadium in a first-place tie with Freedom and seeking career win No. 100 for head coach Ryan Habich, who is 49-19 since coming to Boone six years ago.

The Pioneers are led by QB Jackson Greene (50-603 rushing, 6 TDs; 24-39-0 passing for 604 yards, 7 TDs), RB Jaiden Bond (34-485, 7 TDs) and RB Bryce Satterfield, whose 121.6 yards per game rushing leads the conference.

Last year’s returning QB, Anderson Castle, returned to the lineup last week after missing all but the first few minutes of the season-opening game with an injury.

It’s a key game for Hickory if it wants to have a chance to win a conference title.

QB Bryce Stober (92-158-9 for 1,143 yards, 9 TDs) and WR Jaylin Harper (42-652, 4 TDs, league-leading 108.6 yards per game) lead the Red Tornadoes.

Watauga has a four-game win streak in the series that includes winning 49-42 in Boone last year and it has won three in a row in Barger Stadium.

WEST CALDWELL (0-6, 0-2) at ST. STEPHENS (2-4, 1-1), 7:30 p.m.

The Indians’ homecoming game gies them a chance to win back-to-back games for the first time this season, as they are coming off a 40-36 road win at McDowell.

RB Xavian King ran for 319 yards, a career-best, against McDowell and QB Connor Williams (51-111-12 for 646 yards, 4 TDs) and WR Zach Lee (30-532, 4 TDs) got back in step with their first TD hook-up since the first game of the season.

West Caldwell has been outscored 326-19 and allowed at least 42 points in each game and fell 62-13 last week against South Caldwell.

St. Stephens had won three straight in the series before the Warriors won 33-21 last season in Lenoir.

The teams have played 15 times since 1981 and West Caldwell has won 10 of those.

McDOWELL (2-4, 0-2) at SOUTH CALDWELL (2-4, 1-1), 7:30 p.m.

The two 4A teams in the Northwestern 3A-4A battle and, as it did last year, the outcome will virtually decide which one of them goes to the postseason as the lone 4A rep if they meet all the other playoff criteria.

RB Spencer Piercy, who has nine rushing TDs, leads the Spartans and QB Jason Martin has thrown for four scores, three of them to WR Austin Raynor.

McDowell’s rushing leader is J.C. Olivio (91-471, 4 TDs) while QB Adam Randolph has thrown for 1,007 yards (167.8 per game) with 10 TDs and WR Andruw Randolph has 20 catches for 292 yards and four scores.

South Caldwell has won fourth straight and seven of the last eight in the series but McDowell is 16-8 against the Spartans since 1981.

McDowell last won in Hudson 28-26 in 2007 when RB Terrance Kincaid carried 39 times for 294 yards and two TDs for the Titans.