The Mallard Creek Mavericks will face off against the Hough Huskies at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Mallard Creek is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Saturday. Their defense stepped up to hand Watauga a 23-0 shutout. Given the Mavericks' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked fourth, while the Pioneers are ranked 29th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Meanwhile, Hough's offense rose to the challenge against a Patriots defense that boasted an average of only 15 points allowed on Friday. Hough claimed a resounding 47-3 win over Independence. The score at the end of the third wound up being the final score as the Huskies just coasted through the last quarter.
Hough got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Ralph (Trey) Blakeney out in front who threw for 170 yards and three touchdowns on only 11 passes, and also rushed for 33 yards and a touchdown. Blakeney has been hot recently, having posted three or more passing touchdowns the last four times he's played. Jycen Anciso was another key rusher, rushing for 117 yards and a touchdown on only 11 carries.
Hough was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 258 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Hough's defense made their presence known, laying out Justin Little. five times. Leading the way was Edward Conover with two sacks.
The win was the 11th in a row for Hough, bringing their record for this year to 11-1. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 45.1 points. As for Mallard Creek, the victory (which was their fourth in a row) raised their record to 10-2.
Mallard Creek took a serious blow against Hough in their previous meeting back in October, falling 33-0. Can Mallard Creek avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
