Football Game Preview: Steele Knights vs. Judson Rockets

Two dominant backs in Jonathan Hatton and Kayden Graham are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Steele Knights will be playing in front of their home fans against the Judson Rockets at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

As a matter of fact, Steele put up the most points they have all season on Friday. They breezed past East Central to the tune of 49-0. Given the Knights' advantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 56th, while the Hornets are ranked 391st) , the win wasn't entirely unexpected.

A big part of Steele's victory came down to the chemistry between DJ Green and his top target Micah Sheeler. Green threw for 191 yards and three TDs while completing 72.2% of his passes while Sheeler picked up 122 receiving yards and a pair of scores. Sheeler was no stranger to the big play, connecting on a big catch that went for 55 yards. Marshall Kenner was in the mix too, providing Steele with one touchdown.

Steele was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 229 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in November of 2024.

Meanwhile, it may have taken overtime to finish the job, but Judson ultimately got the result they hoped for last Friday. They walked away with a 34-27 win over East Central.

Judson 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 Marcel Smith. He has been hot, having also posted five or more total tackles the last eight times he's played.

The victory made it two in a row for Steele and bumps their season record up to 5-1. The wins came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered a grand total of 20 points in those games. As for Judson, their victory bumped their record up to 2-3.

Everything came up roses for Steele against Judson in their previous meeting back in October of 2024, as the squad secured a 56-3 win. In that matchup, the Knights amassed a halftime lead of 28-3, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Thursday.