Preview: Norman Tigers vs. Mustang Broncos
The Norman Tigers will head out on the road to face off against the Mustang Broncos at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Given that both teams suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.
Norman pushed their score all the way to 48 on Thursday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They fell to Edmond Santa Fe 52-48. While losing is never fun, Norman can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Oklahoma football rankings (they are ranked 58th, while Edmond Santa Fe is ranked tenth).
The losing side was boosted by Devin Alexander, who rushed for 197 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 7.0 yards per carry. Alexander was no stranger to the big play, turning on the jets for a run that went for 65 yards. Another player making a difference was Phoenix Murphy, who threw for 314 yards and two touchdowns while completing 71.4% of his passes.
Meanwhile, after soaring to 49 points the game before, Mustang were a bit more limited in their contest on Friday. They were beaten by Union 46-7. Mustang just can't catch a break and has now endured three defeats in a row.
This is the second loss in a row for Norman and nudges their season record down to 2-5. Admittedly, the team was facing some tough opposition over that stretch, including 6-1 Union (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 84.5% over those games). As for Mustang, their loss dropped their record down to 4-3.
Norman took a serious blow against Mustang in their previous meeting back in October of 2022, falling 49-10. Can Norman avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.