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Ashe County will be trying to snap a two-game losing skid this Friday night with the Elkin Bucking Elks coming to town.

This Friday will also mark Parents’ Night for all varsity cheerleaders and football players. Football pictures will take place at 6:30 p.m. followed by cheerleading pictures at 7 p.m.

Player and cheerleader introductions will follow the pictures at 7:10 p.m. with everything wrapping up before kickoff at 7:30 p.m.

Last week, Ashe lost to North Surry and struggled to stop leading rusher Blaze Acord.

Things do not get any easier this week with dual-threat quarterback Josh Strickland leading Elkin into this week’s conference matchup.

The Elks are coming off of a 42-20 thrashing of East Wilkes in the annual “Clash of the County Line.”

Strickland tossed three touchdown passes and ran for another one on the ground to propel Elkin to its second win of the early season.

For Ashe, this game will mark the first Mountain Valley Conference game of the season. Elkin currently sits at 1-0 in the MVAC.

On the ground, Elkin will feature a strong group of runners in the backfield behind Strickland. Jamiles Hayes and Kody King will see plenty of touches on the ground. Both runners found the end zone in last week’s battle against the Cardinals. Seth Creed will also play a part in the ground attack.

Through the air, Strickland will look for tight end Sam Lane and wide receiver Chris Hudspeth. Both athletes caught TD passes last week. Lane, the leading scorer on the basketball team, did not start playing football at Elkin until last season. The senior provides a tall target for Strickland as he is listed at six-feet, four inches tall.

Since joining the MVAC in 2009, Ashe and Elkin have faced each other three times. Elkin took the first game by a final score of 19-14. That game went down as one of the most heartbreaking losses in a long time for Ashe. After trailing most of the game, Ashe pulled ahead in the fourth quarter after a touchdown run from Jeren Holman gave the squad a 14-13 lead. However, Elkin capped off an 89-yard drive with a one-yard TD run from Ethan Creed with only 10 seconds left in the game to get the win.

In 2010, Elkin shutdown the Huskies for most of the night, winning the game 28-7. Ethan Kramm ran for three touchdowns in the contest while the Elkin defense forced four Ashe County turnovers.

Last year, however, Ashe traveled to Elkin and came out on the winning end, 28-6. The Huskies ran for 160 yards yards while playing without its top two running backs, and saw its defense completely silence the Elkin rushing and passing attack.

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. from ACHS. The game can be heard live on 580 WKSK or streaming on their website at www.580wksk.com

Other area games

Alleghany at South Stokes

Central Davidson at Mount Airy

East Surry at Newton-Conover

McDowell Co. at Avery Co.

North Wilkes at Wilkes Central

Starmount at East Wilkes

West Caldwell at Watauga

West Wilkes at Forbush