Two old rivals will play Friday night when Wilkes Central visits Alexander Central.
Both teams fell in week one. ACHS was defeated by Statesville 36-21 and Wilkes Central fell to Ashe County 48-26.
Cougar coach Butch Carter said earlier this week that the focus has been on blocking and tackling. The Cougar ground attack was limited to just 67 yards and quarterback Wade Queen was under constant pressure in the pass game. “We just have to be more physical on both sides of the ball” Carter said. Despite the ground game being stuffed by a talented Statesville team and 4 turnovers, Carter said “We still had the ball in the 4th quarter with a chance to pull even.”
Wilkes Central is in it’s second year under veteran coach Chuck Cannon. He’s no stranger to the Cougars or his fellow coach on the other sideline. Carter and Cannon had some battles against each other when Carter coached at South Caldwell and Cannon led Hibriten. “They’ll be tough and we’re a big target for them, they always play us tough.”
The Cougars won last year in Moravian Falls 20-13 although they trailed in the 4th quarter. On paper, it’s a mismatch with AC leading the series all-time 34-7 including 18 straight. The Eagles last win in the series was a 17-10 win in 1992. The game won’t be played on paper. For the first time, the rivals will face each other on an artificial playing surface.
Game time is 7:30 at Glenn Wilson Field at Cougar Stadium. The Countdown to Cougar Kick-Off goes on the air and online at 6:30.