Two dominant backs in Gage Jones and Blake Zanger are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Live Oak Acorns will look to defend their home field on Friday against the Leigh Longhorns at 7:15 p.m. The two teams might be coming in a bit winded given these two teams combined for 930 yards in their previous games.
On Thursday, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Live Oak beat Branham 52-46. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Acorns.
The match pitted two dominant backs against one another in Jones and Michael Murphy. Jones had a great game and rushed for 328 yards and four TDs while picking up 7.6 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Murphy was balling out in the loss, rushing for 230 yards and a pair of scores while picking up 8.8 yards per carry, and also picking up 67 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Dylan Fisher
| 08/29/25 vs Hillsdale | 2 |
| 10/17/25 vs Lincoln | 2 |
| 09/19/25 vs Westmont | 3 |
| 10/11/25 vs Santa Teresa | 3 |
| 09/06/25 @ Ann Sobrato | 4 |
On the defensive side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Live Oak's defensive line and their seven sacks. In that department, Dylan Fisher was the leader with 3.5. He also set a new season-high mark in total tackles with ten. Live Oak got some further help from Messiah Luna: he picked up 1.5 sacks and made ten total tackles (2.0 for loss).
Special teams played a big role in the game for Live Oak, adding 13 points to the final score. The biggest highlight from special teams (and perhaps the team as a whole) came courtesy of Jones, who ran a kickoff back for a touchdown.
Meanwhile, Leigh was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their third straight loss. They were five points away from ending the streak, but they lost a 35-30 heartbreaker at the hands of Lincoln. While the Longhorns had to settle for second, they closed the game well in the third quarter, where they outscored the Lions 7-0.
Defeat or not, Leigh got some senior leadership from Miles Huntington and Charlie Lyon. Huntington picked up 105 receiving yards and a pair of TDs, while Lyon threw for 287 yards and two touchdowns while completing 81.2% of his passes. Huntington has become a key player for the Longhorns: the team is 2-1 when he posts at least 80 receiving yards, but 2-3 otherwise.
Live Oak's win bumped their record up to 7-1. As for Leigh, their loss dropped their record down to 4-4.
Friday's contest might be decided on the ground. Live Oak has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 333 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Leigh struggles in that department as they've been averaging 180.1 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's matchup turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Live Oak strolled past Leigh when the teams last played back in October of 2024 by a score of 14-0. Do the Acorns have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Longhorns turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
