West Carteret has gone 7-2 against Croatan recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Patriots will venture away from home to face off against the Cougars at 7:00 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.
On Friday, West Carteret was able to grind out a solid victory over Richlands, taking the game 34-21. The Patriots pushed the score to 34-14 by the end of the third, a deficit the Wildcats cut but never quite recovered from.
Joshua Bauman
| 08/29/25 vs East Carteret | 4 |
| 10/17/25 vs Richlands | 3 |
| 09/19/25 vs Dixon | 3 |
| 09/05/25 vs North Brunswick | 2 |
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead West Carteret to victory, but perhaps none more so than Joshua Bauman, who rushed for 117 yards and three TDs. Bauman has become a key player for the Patriots: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two rushing touchdowns, but 1-3 otherwise. Tanner Payne was another key player, having thrown for 305 yards and two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Croatan faced off against Richlands last Friday. The Cougars simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat the Wildcats 38-7. The Cougars might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won six games by 31 points or more this season.
West Carteret better keep an eye on Andrew Boucher. He was instrumental in Croatan's win, rushing for 55 yards and a pair of scores, while also picking up 34 receiving yards and one touchdown. Riley Robinson was another key pass catcher, picking up 100 receiving yards and one TD.
Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something Croatan proved: they limited Richlands to a paltry 1.3 yards per carry. The team can thank Carter Abalos for the heroic effort on defense: he. Croatan's ground attack was stronger, having averaged 4.5.
Croatan didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Beau Boyd and Everett Fitzsimmons. Croatan received some extra help from Abalos, whose fumble return for a touchdown made for one of the most unforgettable moments.
Croatan's win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 7-1. Those road victories came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 5.3 points on average over those games. As for West Carteret, their record now sits at 5-3.
Friday's contest will pit two of the most dominant backs against one another: Bauman and Boucher. Bauman just won't slow down this season and has run in 12 touchdowns while averaging 134.9 rushing yards per game. Boucher has been a dominant force too and has run in 16 touchdowns while averaging 99.4 rushing yards per game.
West Carteret was able to grind out a solid win over Croatan when the teams last played back in November of 2024, winning 35-28. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Boucher, who rushed for 125 yards and a pair of scores, and also picked up 72 receiving yards and one touchdown. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will the Patriots still be able to contain Boucher? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
