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Wallace Wade Stadium |

New Hanover is led on offense by quarterback Blake Walston, a junior who has thrown for almost 4,000 yards and 38 touchdowns. Walston has two 1,000-yard receivers that he likes to throw to. Cole Tanner has 41 catches so far this season, but Walston's main target this year has been senior wide receiver Wiz Vaughn. Vaughn has an amazing 85 receptions so far and he's looking for more this Saturday evening. The Wildcats will run the ball some as well and usually, it's sophomore Jabez Howard who's toting the rock for them, averaging 6.5 yards per carry.
Although the Wildcats had a few close matchups late in the playoffs, their defense played outstanding during conference play, gaining four shutouts and losing only to 4A state semifinalist Hoggard on the road to end the regular season.

Defensively, head coach Shane Laws believes his team needs to get after the Wildcats like they did many teams throughout the regular season. At one point in time during the regular season, the Rockets had three straight shutouts over conference opponents and Laws believes a performance like that will be necessary for the AC Reynolds to win their first state title since 2009.