Football Preview: Atlanta Rabbits vs. White Oak Roughnecks
The Atlanta Rabbits will take on the White Oak Roughnecks at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Atlanta sitting on three straight wins and White Oak on four.
Atlanta is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They blew past Mount Vernon, posting a 60-17 victory on the road. Given the Rabbits' advantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 290th, while the Tigers are ranked 743rd), the result on Friday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Atlanta's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Markeylin Batton, who rushed for 138 yards and two touchdowns, and also picked up 98 receiving yards and two touchdowns. With that strong performance, Batton is now averaging an impressive 101.5 rushing yards per game. Another signal caller making a difference was Peyton Harrison, who threw for 235 yards and five touchdowns on perfect 9-for-9 passing.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Atlanta was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 290 rushing yards. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved they're rushing yard total in three consecutive contests.
Atlanta wouldn't let Mount Vernon keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force three fumbles. It was truly a group effort as Landon ?Boosie? Johnson, Caleb Francisco, and Francisco picked up one apiece.
While White Oak didn't have the best season last year (they finished 0-10), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They pulled ahead with a 35-34 photo finish over Queen City on Friday.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead White Oak to victory, but perhaps none more so than Jaxsen Ludlow, who threw for 217 yards and two touchdowns, and also rushed for 85 yards. Junior Allen was another key player, rushing for 89 yards and two touchdowns on only 12 carries.
Atlanta's win bumped their record up to 3-1. As for White Oak, their victory bumped their record up to 4-0.
Friday's game might be decided in the on the ground. Atlanta has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 166.8 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like White Oak struggles in that department as they've been averaging 217. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Everything came up roses for Atlanta against White Oak in their previous meeting back in October of 2023, as the team secured a 67-0 win. Does Atlanta have another victory up their sleeve, or will White Oak turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
