Football Preview: Redwater Dragons vs. Hooks Hornets
Redwater hasn't had much luck against Hooks recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Redwater Dragons will be playing in front of their home fans against the Hooks Hornets at 7:30 p.m. Redwater will be hoping to continue their three-game streak of scoring more points each contest than the last.
Having struggled with eight defeats in a row dating back to last season, Redwater finally turned things around against Queen City on Friday. They blew past the Bulldogs, posting a 46-16 win. The Dragons' offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.
Meanwhile, Hooks came up short against New Boston on Friday and fell 41-33. The Hornets gained 98 more yards on the day, but it was the Lions that made the best use of them.
Despite the loss, Hooks got top-tier performance from Ripken Birdwell, who threw for 400 yards and five touchdowns while picking up 13.8 yards per attempt, and also rushed for 54 yards. Birdwell's passing game has become a key predictor of Hooks' success: the team is 2-1 when his passer rating is 100 or higher, but only 2-3 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Jorge Velazquez, who picked up 192 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
Hooks wouldn't let New Boston keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Hooks can thank Carlos Patino and Tyler Connell for forcing both of them. Hooks got some further help from Jamarion Jackson: he made 22 total tackles (2.0 for loss).
Redwater's first victory this season bumped their record up to 1-5. As for Hooks, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 4-4.
Redwater took a serious blow against Hooks when the teams last played back in October of 2023, falling 76-0. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Birdwell, who threw for 385 yards and five touchdowns while completing 85.7% of his passes, and also rushed for 63 yards and a touchdown. Now that Redwater knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
