West Bladen getts ready for the kick off.
BLADENBORO — The West Bladen Knights will hit the road to take on the Midway Raiders Friday in a SAC 6 Conference clash.
The Knights will look to bounce back after a 71-13 loss to Clinton last week, but the road won’t be any easier as they face the second best offense in the conference thus far. The Raiders are averaging 45.5 points per game and are led by talented senior quarterback Tripp Westbrook.
Westbrook is the top rated quarterback in the SAC 6 this season with more than 1,276 yards through the air and he ranks ninth amongst 2A quarterbacks in the state for passing.
The Raiders also have the best running-back in conference with junior Cody Ammons rushing for 769 yards through the past six games. The West Bladen defense has given up 137 points over the last two games but they’ve played two quality teams in Havelock and Clinton.
The Knights struggled to move the ball down the field last week and got their points off two big kickoff returns in the first quarter. They can always count on their junior wideout Hezikiah Adams to make plays for them, whether it’s on offense, defense, or in return. Midway is 5-1 on the season and they have played a tough schedule so far with 4-of-6 of their opponents having records with .500 or better.
The Raiders defeated Fairmont convincingly to start conference play at 1-0 and will look to repeat the same result this Friday at home. West Bladen’s defense can expect their opponents offense to line-up in the shotgun formation as they look for receivers on crossing routes and the occasional vertical bombs downfield. The Knights offense will be going against an average defense and scoring isn’t out the realm of possibilities if they can put together positive drives.
The passing game has been the Knights strength on offense and sophomore quarterback Hunter Hester can be extremely effective with time in the pocket. Clinton practically lived in the Knights backfield by stuffing the run and their defensive-line finished last week’s game with 6 sacks. West Bladen are at their best when the run game is working and their o-line is getting forward push for positive yardage.
Midway’s best player on the defensive side of the ball is their linebackers Jarrett Cooper and Sergio Rosas. The Raiders defense doesn’t force many takeaways but turnovers are what can change the trajectory of the game. Friday’s kickoff will be at 7 pm at Midway High School for this Week 8 conference clash.