Week five football schedule
Click here for game previews for Ashley, Hoggard, Laney and New Hanover.
North Brunswick (2-1) vs. West Brunswick (2-2)
West Brunswick looks to get back in the win column for the first time in three weeks. After starting the season 2-0, the Trojans have fallen to the .500 mark with setbacks in consecutive games. Whiteville scored a late touchdown last Friday to pull out a 26-22 victory.
The West Brunswick defense has done a good job forcing turnovers this season as Tony Williams picked up an interception last week. The Trojans also recovered a fumble in the game against the Wolfpack, while Hunter Ashburn and Shikeem Hill both accounted for two touchdowns.
North Brunswick is looking for a clean sweep of its cross-county counterparts as the Scorpions enter Friday’s contest coming off a 37-16 win over South Brunswick. The North Brunswick defense did a great job containing sophomore standout Josh Carter, while Tiger Bryant accounted for three touchdowns in the win. The speed of Jayhlen Washington was also on display, with the state track champion returning an 85-yard kickoff for six points.
Topsail (3-1) vs. Jacksonville (1-2)
Topsail is coming off a 35-14 setback at Croatan. Running back D.J. Montano continues to shine for the Pirates as the freshman has seven touchdowns through four games. He’s rushed for 374 yards on 41 carries, while seniors Drew Gaither and Grant McCoy have also been consistent in the ground game. Gaither has the most carries of any Topsail player and McCoy saw an increase workload last Friday.
Jacksonville may be 1-2 on the season, but two of the three games played this year have been lopsided affairs. The Cardinals are on a two-game skid after a 19-0 setback to New Bern. They also fell 21-7 to Northside after grabbing a 41-0 shutout over Southwest Onslow in the season opener.
South Brunswick (2-2) @ Fairmont (1-2)
The Cougars will hit the reset button after being held to under 150 yards of total offense last week. Defenses have started to key on sophomore running back Josh Carter, who rushed for 54 yards against North Brunswick. The additional attention on Carter has given quarterback Robert Watkins a chance to shine in the air attack, but Cougars receivers dropped a handful of passes last Friday.
Raymond Bowens has been the go-to receiver for South Brunswick and Hunter Hemphill gives the Cougars an advantage in the kicking game.
Fairmont will go to the air early and often with duel-threat Julius Caulder under center. Caulder has thrown for nearly 1,000 yards already this season, with 24 rushes for 103 yards on the ground. Jarique Moore is the team’s leading wide out with seven touchdown grabs on 21 receptions.
New Hanover (2-1) vs. Scotland (4-0)
Hoggard (1-3) vs. Clinton (2-0)
Laney (1-3) @ East Bladen (3-0)
Ashley (0-3) vs. Westover (2-2)
