Football Game Preview: Bangs Dragons vs. De Leon Bearcats

The Bangs Dragons are taking a road trip to square off against the De Leon Bearcats at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.

Bangs came into their game on Friday off a hard-fought close win, but unfortunately suffered a serious change of fortune. They had to suffer through a 47-20 loss at the hands of Hamilton. The Dragons' loss signaled the end of their five-game winning streak.

Meanwhile, De Leon waltzed into their matchup on Thursday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They breezed past Ballinger to the tune of 66-14. With De Leon ahead 58-0 at the half, the game was all but over already.

De Leon's win came from a few key players Bangs will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Heston Jobe, who threw for 243 yards and four TDs while completing 76.9% of his passes. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in passer rating (157.9). Lane Couch was another key player, rushing for 108 yards and a pair of scores on only eight carries.

De Leon was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 216 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 174 rushing yards in three consecutive contests.

One reason for the win was De Leon's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for six sacks. The heavy lifting was done by AJ Stewart and Yonathan Hernandez, who racked up four sacks between them. De Leon received some extra help from Hagen Hare, whose fumble return for a touchdown made for one of the most unforgettable moments.

Bangs' defeat was their first in the district, dropping their district record down to 2-1 and their overall record down to 5-3. As for De Leon, their record is now 6-2.

Bangs took a serious blow against De Leon in their previous matchup back in November of 2024, falling 54-0. Can the Dragons avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.