The Taft Raiders are taking a road trip to take on the O'Connor Panthers at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Taft has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the matchup with five straight losses, while O'Connor will come in with three straight wins.
On Friday, Taft came up short against Brennan and fell 35-28. While losing is never fun, the Raiders can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 512th, while the Bears are ranked 98th).
David Aguirre
| 09/27/25 vs Stevens | 134 |
| 10/31/25 vs Brennan | 100 |
| 10/18/25 vs Sotomayor | 100 |
| 09/18/25 @ Holmes | 89 |
| 09/05/25 @ Eagle Pass | 68 |
Despite the defeat, Taft got top-tier performance from Tucker Vogel, who rushed for 201 yards and one TD, and also threw for 104 yards and one touchdown. A healthy portion of that aerial production (100 yards to be exact) went to David Aguirre, who also brought in a receiving touchdown.
Meanwhile, everything came up roses for O'Connor against Stevens on Saturday as the squad secured a 38-6 victory. The game was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 31-0.
Taft better keep an eye on Wyatt McKenzie. He was instrumental in O'Connor's win, rushing for 201 yards and three scores while picking up 7.7 yards per carry. With that strong performance, McKenzie is now averaging an impressive 113.7 rushing yards per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Jake Garza, who rushed for 48 yards.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: O'Connor was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 340 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since the start of last season.
Taft's loss dropped their record down to 3-6. As for O'Connor, their win bumped their record up to 4-5.
Saturday's contest might be decided on the ground. Taft has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 231 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like O'Connor struggles in that department as they've been averaging 182.6 rushing yards. There's a good chance Saturday's matchup turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Everything came up roses for Taft against O'Connor when the teams last played back in November of 2024, as the team secured a 44-10 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Raiders since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
