FOOTBALL PREVIEW: Milton at North Forsyth

Article courtesy of Forsyth County News

Milton at North Forsyth

When, where: Friday, 7:30 p.m., at Raider Valley in Coal Mountain.

Records, rankings: Milton is 4-5 overall, 2-2 in Region 5-7A and unranked in Class 7A; North is 4-5, 1-3 and unranked.

Series record: Tied 1-1.

Last meeting: Milton won 30-14 in 2011.

What to know: North may have lost a bit of its pep over the last few weeks, but the Raiders can get it all back with a win, which would punch a ticket to the playoffs for the first time since 2013. In the last two games the Raiders were out-gunned by South and West by scores of 42-7 and 55-7. It was a wake up call for a team that also scored at will against Lambert and looked, at least early on in the season, to be primed enough to upset one of the big three. Knocking region newcomer Milton out of the No. 4 seed and postseason would be a worthy consolation.

Milton’s strength is its secondary, which includes Wake Forest commit Troy Simon. The matchup between him and receiver Simon Holcomb should be fun to watch. On defense, the Raiders will have to find a way to slow down Solomon Vanhorse. Vanhorse ran for big plays last week as a decoy — essentially — against Lambert, but could be featured more. Milton’s quarterback Jordan Yates is an above-average runner and puts pressure on the defensive ends and linebackers.