Fighting Scots season at the bye week

LAURINBURG —The Fighting Scots football team has three regular season games left on their schedule against Pinecrest on the road, at home against Lee County for senior night and at archrival Richmond for the finale. They will not face any of them this week as Scotland enjoys their bye week before heading into the home stretch of their season. Here is a preview of the Scots’ final three opponents by some numbers and their recent history with Scotland:

at Pinecrest (Oct. 18)

The Patriots currently sit at 5-1 on the season and at 1-1 in conference games with a road game at Lee County this week. They have a +63 point differential (234-171) as of this writing. On offense they are led by a dynamic one-two punch of Zymire Spencer and Chris Najm out of the backfield, who combine to average 228.5 rushing yards per game and have scored a combined 21 total touchdowns this season. William Miller has three interceptions to lead an opportunistic defense that has 13 takeaways on the season. Scotland has struggled with Pinecrest in recent years, last beating them seven years ago in the 2017-18 season 47-28.

vs Lee County (Oct. 25)

The Yellow Jackets stand at 4-2 this year and have gone 1-1 against conference opponents as they host Pinecrest this week. Their point differential is a very solid +61 heading into their battle with the Patriots. Lee County has terrific playmakers both in the running and passing game as Jayden Hill is currently averaging 103.7 receiving yards per game with seven touchdowns while Rahshaun Brown is gaining 135.5 rushing yards per contest on the ground with a team leading eight touchdowns. Taj Mckendall is the defense’s heartbeat, averaging 9.3 tackles per game on a unit that has four different players with an interception and seven different players with a fumble recovery this year. Scotland has won the past two meetings between the teams, last losing to them 38-31 during the 2021-22 season.

at Richmond (Nov. 1)

Scotland’s archrival is currently 5-2 on the season and 3-0 in conference play as they host Union Pines, the only other team in the conference still without a loss in conference games, this week. Their point differential is a dominant +92 as of now. Jordan Bostick is the lifeblood of the offense with eight touchdowns on the year and is averaging 48.1 rushing yards a game. Keyonta Davis has also chipped in 53.2 receiving yards per contest and has found the endzone four times this season. Terande Spencer has been a force for their defense, racking up 10.0 sacks and is averaging 9.0 tackles per contest. Kmauri Morgan is leading the team in tackles at 11.3 per game. The Raiders have won three of the last four meetings between the teams with Scotland’s lone win coming by a score of 22-21 in the 2022-23 season.

Where the Scots stand at the bye: Scotland stands at 3-4 (2-1 in conference games) on the year with wins over Terry Sanford, Hoke County and Southern Lee and losses to Dillon, Marlboro County, Jack Britt and Union Pines. They currently sit at third in the conference standings behind Richmond and Union Pines and just ahead of Lee County and Pinecrest. Quarterback Ji’San McPhatter has scored 12 total touchdowns this year with Dajuan Gibson (52.9 yards a game and five touchdowns) as his main target through the air. Tyjurian White has led the team on the ground with 67.1 rushing yards a game and four total touchdowns. The defensive side of the ball has been led by Dylan Tilson’s six sacks and Keyshaun Mcqueen registering 8.7 tackles per contest. As can be seen, their final three games will all be tough tests and ultimately play a large role in how their season shakes out.