Clinton defeated Beddingfield in round two of the NCHSAA State Playoffs last Friday. The win propelled the Dark Horses into a third round match-up with the top-seeded team in the Eastern Region, T.W. Andrews, of High Point.
The Dark Horses will have to travel to High Point to take on the very talented Red Raiders. Here are some things that fans need to know about the opponent, entering the biggest game of the year for both of these squads.
T.W. Andrews enters the game with an impressive 12-1 record. They finished undefeated in conference play at 5-0, and have a 7-1 home record. Their one loss came at home, in their first game of the year, against Southwest Guilford. Southwest Guilford went on to finish 6-7 on the year, but were able to hand the Red Raiders their only loss of the year in a 28-21 affair that really seemed to be, and still seems to a bit of a fluke.
The Red Raiders are really good, obviously, as they boast the top seed in the East. Head coach Rodney McCoy has a couple of very talented backs, including Junior running back, Travis Steele. Steele already racked up 1198 yards, on 150 carries this season. He is averaging 8 yards per carry, and just shy of 100 yards per game. He has found the end zone 12 times this season. Number 24 will be a big point of emphasis for the Dark Horse defense come Friday.
Quarterback, Bailey Willis of T.W. Andrews will also pose a threat to Clinton. He is averaging 68 passing yards per game, and has thrown for 8 touchdowns this season. He has a quarterback rating of 111.11 as of right now, and does a great job of leading the high-powered Red Raider offense.
As good and explosive as the Andrews offense is, their defense may be their most impressive feature. They are led by Trevon Bonner and Tyler Wilkes in tackles, with 65 and 62, respectively. Bonner has racked up 6 sacks this season to lead the Red Raiders. T.W. Andrews have only allowed their oppenents to score in double figures in 3 of their 13 games this season.
This will be Clinton’s biggest test of the year, and they will have to be firing on all cylinders to advance. Check out our prediction of the game in Friday’s paper.
