Preview: Reedy Lions vs. Heritage Coyotes
Reedy is 5-0 against Heritage since October of 2016, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Reedy Lions will be playing at home against the Heritage Coyotes at 7:00 p.m. One thing working in Reedy's favor is that they have now posted big point totals every time they've taken the field this season.
Reedy put the finishing touches on their seventh blowout victory of the season on Friday. They took their match on the road with ease, bagging a 45-3 win over Frisco. Given Reedy's advantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 70th, while Frisco is ranked 219th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
The team won by holding Frisco to a paltry no rushing yards and no passing yards. A big part of that defensive dominance came down to Reedy's ability to keep the quarterback under pressure: the team laid him out four times before it was all said and done. The heavy lifting was done by Kahlil Smith and Luca Akirtava who racked up four sacks between them.
Meanwhile, after a string of four wins, Heritage's good fortune finally ran out two weeks ago. They fell just short of Frisco by a score of 10-7. Despite 126 more yards than Frisco, Heritage couldn't convert that extra yardage to scores.
Heritage's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Kentra Britton, who rushed for 91 yards and a touchdown, and Jiyere Cogshell who rushed for 87 yards.
Reedy's win was their sixth straight on the road, which bumped their overall record up to 8-1. That said, the team wasn't facing the toughest opposition over that stretch, as it included 0-8 Liberty and 1-7 Lebanon Trail (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 36.8% over those games). As for Heritage, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-2.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's match: Reedy has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 234.7 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Heritage struggles in that department as they've been averaging 152.8 per game. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Reedy won a game that couldn't have been any closer in their previous meeting back in October of 2022, slipping by Heritage 32-31. Will Reedy repeat their success, or does Heritage have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
