Photo by Max Gallagher

By Ryan Moxon — The Hough football team heads to Mooresville tonight with one team looking to remain undefeated and another searching for its first win of the season.

The No. 24-ranked Blue Devils are 0-3 after a blowout loss to No. 4 Weddington and narrow defeats against Sun Valley and A.L. Brown. The Huskies are coming off a dominant victory over the No. 2-ranked team in the state, as well as wins over two other highly regarded opponents, Cardinal Gibbons and Northwestern (S.C.).

Mooresville boasts a balanced passing and rushing attack. Running back Zy Pharr is averaging 90 yards per game on the ground, while wide receivers Chanse Bost and Tyler Myers are combining for 158 receiving yards per game.

They will face a Hough defense that has been dominant for the past two seasons and has allowed just 23 points to teams ranked among the top five in their respective states this season.

The Huskies narrowly escaped defeat against Mooresville last season, needing a fourth-quarter pick-six and a late fumble recovery to secure a seven-point victory over the then-No. 10-ranked Blue Devils.

The win helped launch Hough’s run to a state championship, as the Huskies finished the season with an average margin of victory of 38 points over their final 10 games.

Kickoff is at 7 p.m. Tickets are $11 and are available through the GoFan app. The game will be streamed live on the NFHS Network with a subscription.

National rankings

Hough has climbed in several national rankings following its 3-0 start. The Huskies are ranked No. 11 in the Rivals Massey Ratings, No. 12 in the Rivals Composite Rankings and No. 17 by both MaxPreps and S.C. Next.