The Lorena Leopards will square off against the Lampasas Badgers at 7:00 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.
Last Friday, Lorena humbled C.H. Yoe with a 42-13 victory. The final result isn't all that surprising considering the Leopards' considerable advantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 149th, while the Yoemen are ranked 491st).
Jaxon Blancett produced another solid performance throwing for 151 yards and one TD, while also punching in one touchdown on the ground. Parker Bottoms was in the mix as well, providing Lorena with one score.
Lorena didn't let much get past them through the air: they limited C.H. Yoe to a completion percentage of just 29.4%. The team can thank Konnor Johnson for the heroic effort on defense: he. Lorena wasn't nearly as limited: they posted one of 52.9%.
Lorena's defense didn't let Jacoby Scott., get away unscathed either: they got into the backfield for three sacks. The team can thank three different players for their defensive prowess: Sloan Blackwell, Chase Rohde, and Bottoms, who each picked up one sack apiece. Adrian Medina was another major factor on D, making 14 total tackles (1.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, Lampasas strolled into their game on Friday with a perfect record and they left with the same. They came out on top against University by a score of 35-28. That's two games straight that the Badgers have won by exactly seven points.
Lampasas' win came from a few key players Lorena will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Wesley Stephens, who rushed for 144 yards while picking up 7.2 yards per carry. Those 144 rushing yards gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of KJ Reed, who rushed for 134 yards on only 15 carries.
The victory got Lorena back to even at 2-2. As for Lampasas, their win bumped their record up to 5-0.
The upcoming game will be a clash of competing strengths. Lorena has relied on air attacks this season and has averaged 334.5 passing yards per game. Lampasas, on the other hand, has relied on a stout run game: they average 259.6 rushing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Thursday? There's only one way to find out.
Lorena came up short against Lampasas in their previous matchup back in October of 2024, falling 24-13. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of the Badgers' Bryson Roberts, who threw for 226 yards and a pair of touchdowns while picking up 10.8 yards per attempt. Now that the Leopards know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
