Football Preview: Springtown Porcupines vs. Castleberry Lions
Springtown has gone 4-0 against Castleberry recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Thursday. The Springtown Porcupines will challenge the Castleberry Lions at 7:00 p.m. Springtown is coming into the match hot, having won their last nine games.
Springtown's usually-dominant defense will be looking to make up for Friday's struggle, when Decatur offense got past them. Springtown narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past Decatur 41-38. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Porcupines have posted since September 29, 2023.
Springtown can attribute much of their success to Kaine Hill, who threw for 170 yards and three touchdowns, and Ryan Kirk, who rushed for 166 yards and a touchdown while picking up 10.4 yards per carry. Kirk really tore up the turf during one magnificent 80-yard run. The team also got some help courtesy of Karson Ferguson, who picked up 74 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Springtown didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Darren Sweely. He has been hot recently, having also posted five or more total tackles the last three times he's played. Rome Ewell was another major factor on D, making 19 total tackles (1.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Castleberry). They took their matchup on Thursday with ease, bagging an 83-33 victory over Life Waxahachie. Considering the Lions have won three contests by more than 44 points this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Demetrius Valadez was a one-man wrecking crew for Castleberry as he threw for 255 yards and five touchdowns while completing 85% of his passes, and also rushed for 125 yards and two touchdowns on only eight carries. Valadez is becoming a predictor of Castleberry's success: when he posts at least two rushing touchdowns the team is undefeated (and 2-5 when he doesn't). Isaiah Ford was another key player, rushing for 186 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 9.3 yards per carry.
Castleberry was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 442 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 170 rushing yards in 12 consecutive games dating back to last season.
Springtown pushed their record up to 9-1 with the win, which was their fourth straight on the road. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 47.3 points per game. As for Castleberry, their victory ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 5-5.
Thursday's match might be decided in the on the ground. Springtown has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 214.2 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Castleberry struggles in that department as they've been averaging 294.9. It's looking like Thursday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Everything came up roses for Springtown against Castleberry in their previous meeting back in October of 2017, as the squad secured a 66-33 win. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Castleberry's Seth Oakes, who picked up 336 receiving yards and four touchdowns, and also punched in a rushing score. Now that he won't be playing on Thursday, will it be easier for Springtown to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
