Football Preview: O'Connor Panthers vs. Holmes Huskies
O'Connor has gone 7-1 against Holmes recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The O'Connor Panthers will venture away from home to take on the Holmes Huskies at 7:30 p.m. O'Connor is no doubt hoping to put an end to a three-game streak of away losses.
O'Connor gave up the first points last Saturday, but they didn't let that get them down. They came out on top against Marshall by a score of 31-24. The high-scoring effort was just what the Panthers needed considering they were shutout in their previous matchup.
A big part of O'Connor's win came down to the chemistry between Jake Garza and his top target Chris Esparza. Garza threw for 226 yards and three touchdowns on only 17 passes while Esparza picked up 102 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Holmes was not able to break out of their rough patch on Saturday as the team picked up their sixth straight loss. They were dealt a 72-7 defeat at the hands of Brennan. While losing is never fun, the Huskies can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 866th, while the Bears are ranked 82nd).
Despite the loss, Holmes saw an underclassman step up: Jayden Hopkins rushed for 78 yards and a touchdown. Hopkins got the majority of those rushing yards when he took off on a run that went for an incredible 65 yards.
The victory snapped O'Connor's losing streak at three games and leaves them with a 2-5 record. As for Holmes, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-7.
O'Connor strolled past Holmes in their previous matchup back in November of 2023 by a score of 45-28. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Hopkins, who picked up 147 receiving yards and a touchdown, and also rushed for 49 yards and a touchdown. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will O'Connor still be able to contain Hopkins? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
