Preview: Loyd Star Hornets vs. Collins Tigers
The Loyd Star Hornets will square off against the Collins Tigers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Loyd Star will be looking to extend their current nine-game winning streak.
It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Loyd Star had no problem doing just that on Friday. In a tight game that could have gone either way, they made off with a 21-20 victory over Lake.
Loyd Star's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Omarion Clay, who picked up 98 receiving yards and a touchdown, and Jordyn Kees, who rushed for 76 yards and a touchdown.
Meanwhile, after only seven points in their last match, Collins made sure to put some points up on the board against Puckett on Friday. Collins blew past Puckett 50-30. Considering Collins has won four contests by more than 19 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Collins to victory, but perhaps none more so than Tykedric Barnes, who rushed for 38 yards and three touchdowns. Donte Booth got in on the action as well, converting a pick into a touchdown.
Loyd Star pushed their record up to 10-1 with that win, which was their fourth straight at home. That said, the team wasn't facing the toughest opposition over that stretch, as it included 2-9 Wilkinson County and 2-8 Stringer (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 30.4% over those games). As for Collins, their win bumped their record up to 6-4.
Loyd Star came up short against Collins in their previous matchup back in November of 2022, falling 39-26. Can Loyd Star avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
