The La Vega Pirates will square off against the Silsbee Tigers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
La Vega is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. Their defense stepped up to hand La Grange a 42-0 shutout. The final result isn't all that surprising considering the Pirates' considerable advantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 23rd, while the Leopards are ranked 462nd).
Kourtney Parr and Ben Thompson were among the main playmakers for La Vega as the former threw for 116 yards and four TDs and the latter rushed for 102 yards and one touchdown on only ten carries. Thompson got the majority of those rushing yards when he took off on a run that went for an incredible 62 yards. James Degrate also deserves some recognition as he hauled in his first receiving touchdown of the season.
La Vega's run defense was locked in: La Grange could only muster 1.8 yards per carry. While two picked up at least nine total tackles, Craig Davis stood above the rest. He picked up a sack and made nine total tackles (3.0 for loss). La Vega's run defense has been on the up-and-up: they allowed 4.5 yards per carry earlier this season, but they've only allowed 6.4 on average over their last five games.
La Vega didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Craig Bradley and Deadrick Stuart. Davis was another major factor on D, picking up a sack and making nine total tackles (3.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, Silsbee won against Shepherd last Friday with 48 points and they decided to stick to that point total again on Thursday. The Tigers put the hurt on Sweeny with a sharp 48-27 victory. The Tigers pushed the score to 48-14 by the end of the third, a deficit the Bulldogs cut but never quite recovered from.
Silsbee's win came from a few key players La Vega will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Jacaleb Johnson, who rushed for 126 yards and three scores on only 12 carries. Silsbee is undefeated when Johnson posts two or more rushing touchdowns, but 2-3 otherwise. Ty'Zavion Hafford was another key player, rushing for 66 yards and a pair of touchdowns on only seven carries.
La Vega pushed their record up to 9-2 with the win, which was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season. The home victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 35.7 points over those games. As for Silsbee, their record is now 8-3.
Everything came up roses for La Vega against Silsbee when the teams last played back in November of 2024, as the team secured a 49-21 win. Will the Pirates repeat their success, or do the Tigers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
