The West Carteret Patriots will take on the Richlands Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. West Carteret has given up an average of 38.1 points per game this season, but Friday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Richlands is facing West Carteret at the wrong time: West Carteret suffered their first home loss of the season on Friday and they're likely out for redemption. They lost to the Monarchs at home by a 42-28 margin. The matchup was a 14-14 toss-up at halftime, but the Patriots couldn't quite close it out.
Despite their defeat, West Carteret saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Joshua Bauman, who rushed for 203 yards while picking up 7.3 yards per carry, was perhaps the best of all. Tanner Payne was another key signal caller, throwing for 184 yards and two TDs.
Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Richlands faced off against Croatan on Friday. The Wildcats were dealt a 38-7 loss at the hands of the Cougars. While losing is never fun, the Wildcats can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 264th, while the Cougars are ranked 113th).
Richlands didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Payton Hughes and JT Bratcher. Hughes has been hot, having also posted six or more total tackles the last six times he's played.
West Carteret's defeat dropped their record down to 4-3. As for Richlands, their loss dropped their record down to 1-6.
West Carteret was dealt a bruising 61-27 defeat at the hands of Richlands in their previous matchup back in October of 2024. Can the Patriots 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
