Two dominant backs in Tremayne Hill and Kade Gulledge are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Katy Tigers will venture away from home to square off against the Memorial Mustangs at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Katy knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 31 points or more in their past ten games -- so hopefully Memorial likes a good challenge.
Katy is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They took their contest with ease, bagging a 42-7 win over George Ranch. The matchup was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 35-0.
The match pitted two dominant backs against one another in Hill and Hayden Drinkard. Hill had a great game and rushed for 144 yards and two TDs on only 12 carries. Meanwhile, Drinkard was balling out in the loss, rushing for 142 yards.
Special teams was a major factor in the game for Katy, racking up 12 points in total. The biggest highlight from special teams (and perhaps the team as a whole) came courtesy of Drake Hopkins, who ran a punt back for a touchdown.
One reason for the win was Katy's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for three sacks. In that department, Munachi Obeta was the leader with two. Katy got some further help from Reid Garrelts: he picked up a sack, forced one fumble, and made ten total tackles (2.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, Memorial entered their tilt with Wisdom on Friday with eight consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with nine. They blew past the Generals 50-6. The final result isn't all that surprising considering the Mustangs' considerable advantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 181st, while the Generals are ranked 1010th).
Katy better keep an eye on Grant Sperandio. He was instrumental in Memorial's win, throwing for 122 yards and three touchdowns. Myles Goebel was in the mix too, providing the Mustangs with two scores.
Memorial was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 288 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 157 rushing yards every time they've taken the field this season.
Memorial's victory bumped their record up to 10-1. As for Katy, their win bumped their record up to 9-2.
Friday's game might be decided on the ground. Katy has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 361 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Memorial struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 245.8 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's contest turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Everything came up roses for Katy against Memorial when the teams last played back in November of 2022, as the team secured a 62-21 victory. In that matchup, the Tigers amassed a halftime lead of 41-14, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.
