* Time: 7:30 p.m.
* Records: South Rowan 3-4, 3-2 NPC; Lake Norman 5-2, 3-2 NPC
* Series: South leads 1-0
* Last meeting: Raiders pulled away 36-7 at Donnell Stadium in 2007
* Last week: South handled East Rowan 31-7; Lake Norman stunned Mooresville 17-7
* Next week: South is home against Mooresville; Lake Norman is at West Rowan
* Game notes: South outscored Lake Norman 29-0 in the second half last season, as QB Blake Houston was 10-for-12 passing for 109 yards and threw two TDs to B.J. Grant.
Houston and Grant will be keys to the game, as Lake Norman, led by beat Dirqual Ellis, is very tough to run against and will stack the box against Deandre Harris. South O-linemen such as Zach Beasley have their work cut out.
Hard to say what’s going to happen tonight, but it’s a huge game for two programs trying to get over the hump. One team will leave the field with a three-game winning streak.
Statistically, it’s an even game. Lake Norman has scored 143 points while allowing 112. South has scored 135 while allowing 111.
Lake Norman, which is 2-2 at home, has been utterly unpredictable. The Wildcats lost to Carson on their homecoming, but they beat Mooresville for the first time ever last week. Mooresville beat A.L. Brown and beat Carson by 42 points.
Lake Norman also beat a West Iredell team that beat South Rowan. Both teams lost to Statesville.
South is 1-3 on the road, and it’s only “road ” win came on the short ride to Carson. South is 2-12 away from home the past three seasons.
That makes Lake Norman, which has the superior kicking game and commits far fewer penalties, a slight favorite.