Football Game Preview: Liberal Redskins vs. Hays Indians

The Liberal Redskins will square off against the Hays Indians at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Hays took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Liberal, who comes in off a win.

Liberal took a loss when they played away from home last Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They claimed a resounding 38-8 win over Ulysses. Considering the Redskins have won three games by more than 29 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.

Xavier Tafoya

Rushing Yards (Career)

10/17/25 vs Ulysses	240
10/18/24 @ Ulysses	121
09/13/24 vs South	97
10/03/25 @ Garden City	96
11/01/24 vs Bishop Carroll	75

Xavier Tafoya continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 240 yards and two scores while picking up 10.9 yards per carry. Those 240 rushing yards gave him a new career-high. Another rusher making a difference was Blayden Betts, who rushed for 100 yards and a pair of touchdowns on only 14 carries.

Liberal's run defense was locked in: Ulysses could only muster -0.5 yards per carry. While two picked up at least five total tackles, Tafoya stood above the rest. He rushed for 240 yards and two TDs while picking up 10.9 yards per carry. Liberal didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 8.4.

Liberal's defense didn't let the opposing QB, get away unscathed either: they got into the backfield for four sacks. Ulysses' QB won't forget Tafoya anytime soon given he sacked him twice.

Meanwhile, Hays faced Great Bend in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Friday. The Indians lost 43-19 to the Panthers. It was the first time this season that the Indians let down their fans at home.

Liberal's victory bumped their record up to 6-1. As for Hays, their loss was their first in the district, dropping their district record down to 2-1 and their overall record down to 5-2.

Liberal barely slipped by Hays when the teams last played back in October of 2024, winning 20-19. Will the Redskins repeat their success, or do the Indians have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.