Ezell-Harding (3-4) at Battle Ground Academy (5-3), 7 p.m. Friday
Battle Ground Academy will look to get a big win Friday for its seniors.
The Wildcats welcome Ezell-Harding to BGA on senior night. It will be the final game in the exhausting nine-game stretch without a bye week for the Wildcats.
While BGA hasn’t had its bye week yet this season, the Eagles go into Friday fresh off an off week after losing 34-7 to Franklin Road Academy on Sept. 30.
Last week was a tough loss for the Wildcats. Knox Webb traveled to Franklin for BGA’s homecoming and ran over them in route to a 27-9 victory.
It was the Spartans’ rushing attack that gave BGA trouble. They ran 46 times for 360 yards and had three players average over seven yards per rush attempt. The Wildcats, on the other hand, had just 79 yards on 29 carries.
If BGA wants to come out with a win on senior night, it will have to get production out of its rushing game to complement quarterback Drew Martin (1,666 pass yards, 16 TDs, 4 INTs). The junior completed 20-of-32 passes for 194 yards and a touchdown last week. He also led the team in rushing with 12 carries for 47 yards.
Defensively, the Wildcats will have to deal with a balanced Ezell-Harding offense. Quarterback Bailey Phillips provides the Spartans with dual-threat ability, while their rushing attack is led by senior running back Malik Ruffin.
Last season, BGA took some frustrations out against Ezell-Harding, dominating the Spartans 47-13 after back-to-back losses. With the loss last week and a bye week ahead, the Wildcats will look to do much of the same Friday.
Page (4-2, 3-0) at Giles County (5-2, 2-1), 7 p.m. Friday
The Page Patriots will look to keep pace atop the Region 4-4A standings with a win at Giles County Friday.
Page is riding a three-game winning streak and is coming off a bye last week. Giles County, on the other hand, has won two games in a row and is also coming off a bye.
Both offenses have looked very potent in their last two contests. The Patriots scored a combined 104 points in their last two games, while the Bobcats scored 105.
Page has benefited recently from two newcomers offensively.
Freshman running back Bubba Johnson (569 run yds, 8 TDs) rushed for 227 yards and five touchdowns in the two games combined, while first-year starting quarterback Jacob Van Landingham (1,040 passing yards, 11 total TDs) was effective both in the air and on the ground.
The junior signal caller completed 23-of-36 passes for 370 yards and two touchdowns over the Patriots’ last two contests. He also rushed for 158 yards and three more scores.
The Patriots will have to deal with a Giles County offense built around quarterback John Bachus and running back R’Kell Reed.
Bachus, a junior, has connected on 70 percent of his passes this season for 2,063 yards, 16 touchdowns and five interceptions. Reed has rushed for 803 yards and 14 scores in his senior campaign.
Page will lean on its defense led by linebacker Cruze Kerrigan (57 tackles) and defensive end Turner Smith (43 tackles) to try and slow the Bobcats down.
