Football Preview: Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Bears vs. Steele Knights
The Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Bears will take on the Steele Knights at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Pharr-San Juan-Alamo is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They really took it to Harlingen for the full four quarters, racking up a 55-28 win. The Bears' offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.
Myles Lopez continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, throwing for 450 yards and four touchdowns, while also rushing for 41 yards. Caleb Salas was in the mix too, providing Pharr-San Juan-Alamo with two touchdowns.
Pharr-San Juan-Alamo didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off four passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Matthew Gamez and Jesus Garza. Gamez is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made five or more in the last ten games he's played. Another thorn in Harlingen's side was Cody Longoria, who picked up 0.5 sacks and made 14 total tackles (3.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, Steele had already won six in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 46.7 points) and they went ahead and made it seven on Thursday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat the Bulldogs 56-14. Given the Knights' advantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 32nd, while the Bulldogs are ranked 456th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Royal Capell, who picked up 132 receiving yards and three touchdowns. He showed off some serious burst, lighting up the secondary with a catch for 55 yards. Jalen Cooper also helped out as he racked up 101 receiving yards.
Steele's defense stepped up as well, laying out the QB three times. Leading the way was JULIAN HUGO with two sacks.
Steele's victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-1. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 62.8 points per game. As for Pharr-San Juan-Alamo, the win was the sixth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 9-2.
The upcoming contest will be a clash of competing strengths. Pharr-San Juan-Alamo has relied on air attacks this season and has averaged 297.5 passing yards per game. Steele, on the other hand, has relied on a stout run game: they average 209.2 rushing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Thursday? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
