By Patrick O'Brien
We are just a day away from Friday Night high school football in North Carolina, as teams gear up for Week 2 of the season. However, there are a few games that you want to take notice of on Thursday night, as Carolina Gridiron previews two, one of which we will be the field for.
Southern Durham at Cardinal Gibbons
- Both teams come in 1-0 on the season after winning their opening game last week. Now, the Spartans of Southern Durham travel to Raleigh to take on Cardinal Gibbons Thursday. Southern is coming off a 35-19 win over E.E. Smith last week, a game in which the Spartans racked up 223 rushing yards led by senior running back Joey Strong Jr. (140 yards rushing on 15 carries). The Spartans hope to have the same success on the ground against Cardinal Gibbons while Ja-quez Harrell looks to find ways to move the ball through the air. Gibbons is coming off a 49-27 win over Athens Drive last week, a game in which quarterback Anton Stoneking threw for 194 yards and four touchdowns. Along with the passing game, the Crusaders racked up 288 rushing yards, led by Dalen Spruill who had 15 carries for 161 yards in the win. The Crusaders are hoping to use a balanced offense in both the run and passing game against a defense that only gave 217 total yards last week.
- Carolina Gridiron will be on the field for this game, as you can follow Patrick O’Brien (@RivalsPOB) for updates.
Hendersonville at West Henderson
- Both teams are coming off close games, with Hendersonville coming in a 0-1, while West Henderson secured the 17-15 win last week to start the season. Hendersonville’s quarterback Alex Williford threw for 182 yards last week but is hoping for a bounce back game in which he threw three interceptions. The run game didn’t work as well as they wanted to, as the Bearcats averaged 2.9 yards per rush last week, something the coaching staff would like to see increase. The Falcons of West Henderson secured a hard fought win last week using the ground attack, as Ricky McKenzie, Landon Owen, and quarterback Brandon Whitaker helped the Falcons to 158 yards on the ground last week. West Henderson will again look for the ground game again this week in the rivalry game. Last year, West Henderson took home the 42-14 win behind 478 rushing yards and five touchdowns.
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