Football Preview: Hermleigh Cardinals vs. Westbrook Wildcats
The Hermleigh Cardinals will take on the Westbrook Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: both posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Hermleigh is probably headed into the game with a chip on their shoulder considering Ira just ended the team's four-game winning streak on Friday. They took a 58-50 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Bulldogs. The defeat continues a trend for the Cardinals in their matchups with the Bulldogs: they've now lost three in a row.
Meanwhile, Westbrook entered their tilt with Roby on Friday with four consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with five. Their defense stepped up to hand the Lions a 51-0 shutout. Given the Wildcats' advantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked seventh, while the Lions are ranked 140th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Westbrook can attribute much of their success to Kaden Gutierrez, who rushed for 71 yards and two touchdowns on only six carries, and Shawn Salazar, who gained 67 total yards and two touchdowns. Those 71 rushing yards gave Gutierrez a new career-high.
Westbrook was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 240 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 175 rushing yards in 20 consecutive matches dating back to last season.
Westbrook pushed their record up to 7-2 with the win, which was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 60.9 points per game. As for Hermleigh, their loss dropped their record down to 7-2.
Hermleigh was taken down by Westbrook 76-30 in their previous matchup back in October of 2023. That contest was all but decided by halftime, at which point Hermleigh was down 70-30.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
