East Bladen celebrates Senior Night Friday against St. Pauls, while West Bladen travels to West Columbus. Admission at East Bladen will be through the main gate only, while West Columbus will be selling tickets at their gate on a first come; first serve basis.
St. Pauls (0-0) at East Bladen (2-0)
East Bladen hosts a St. Pauls team that was one of the pre-season favorites in the Three Rivers Conference, but the Bulldogs have not yet played a game this season due to quarantine.
Bulldog junior Mikail Breeden threw for 1072 yards and 9 touchdowns in 2019. Favorite receiver Waltay Jackson caught 31 passes for 475 yards and 5 touchdowns, while senior tight end William Ford snared 17 passes for 351 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Senior Demonta Williams leads the returning rushing corps. Senior defensive tackle Ethan Roberts made 100 tackles and had 11 sacks in 2019. Other key returnees are senior Erick Washington (66 tackles, 10 sacks) and senior defensive end Enrique Lopez-Ray (62 tackles in 2019).
Senior Rasean McKoy has rushed for 346 yards total in the Eagles wins over South Columbus (35-21) and Fairmont (50-12). McKoy has also caught a touchdown pass and returned a kickoff for a touchdown.
Junior Javius Brooks rushed for 122 yards and a touchdown at Fairmont, and his ‘little brother’ freshman Masion Brooks powered his way to touchdown runs of 30 and 8 yards against Fairmont and finished with 61 yards on 7 carries. Junior Raymond Autry, Jr. returned a kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown.
Senior Josh Hayes leads the Eagle defense with 31 tackles -22 in the win over South Columbus. Autry has been credited with 12 tackles, senior Javant McDowell has 9 tackles and an interception and junior Zavarion Palmer has 9 tackles.
West Bladen (0-2) at West Columbus (0-1)
West Bladen’s Knights visit West Columbus as both teams battle for their first win of the season. The Knights lost 34-30 to Fairmont and 48-24 to South Columbus, while the Vikings opened their season with a 36-0 loss to Whiteville.
Sophomore Gary Parker rushed for 123 yards and 2 touchdowns against South Columbus and has scored 4 touchdowns on the season. Powerful junior Damarius Robinson gained 94 yards on 10 carries against the Stallions.
The Knights have rushed for 534 yards in 2 games. Junior quarterback Devon Strange has passed for 126 yards and 2 touchdowns and ran for 93 yards. Senior ShyRon Adams and Keshawn Ballard have caught touchdown passes.
Viking quarterback Nick Hunt completed 7 of 16 passes for 85 yards Saturday against Whiteville. Tight end Brandis Kelly snagged 4 passes for 58 yards, and senior Darius Marshall caught 3 passes for 47 yards. Junior Da’norie Mack rushed for 149 yards.
Marshall led the Viking defense with 13 tackles, senior Keywone Sumpter and Jordan Mathis were credited with 10 tackles each.
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