Blue Ridge is 1-8 against Eastside since September of 2014 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Blue Ridge Fighting Tigers are taking a road trip to square off against the Eastside Eagles at 7:00 p.m. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Friday, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Blue Ridge beat Polk County 42-36. Given the Fighting Tigers' advantage in MaxPreps' football rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 132nd in South Carolina, while the Wolverines are ranked 285th in North Carolina), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Gavin Forrester had a dynamite game for Blue Ridge, rushing for 115 yards and four touchdowns on only 13 carries, while also throwing for 137 yards and two touchdowns on only 13 passes. That's the most total yards Forrester has posted since back in September of 2023. Blue Ridge also got a significant boost from Kb Henderson, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 140 yards.
Meanwhile, Eastside never let their opponents score last Friday. They breezed by Carolina Academy at home to the tune of 27-0. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Eagles.
Eastside got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Peyton Schrader out in front who rushed for 68 yards and a touchdown on only five carries.
Eastside's defense stepped up as well, laying out the QB seven times. The heavy lifting was done by Messiah Pearson and Jaquavious Dodd who racked up four sacks between them. Dodd is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made five or more in the last seven games he's played dating back to last season. Eastside got some further help from Mj Posey: he picked up a sack and made ten total tackles (4.0 for loss).
Blue Ridge's record is now 2-0. As for Eastside, their win was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 2-0.
Blue Ridge ended up a good deal behind Eastside in their previous matchup back in September of 2023, losing 54-40. Thankfully for Blue Ridge, Kalvin Banks (who rushed for 420 yards and six touchdowns while picking up 17.5 yards per carry) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
