Southern Choctaw is 1-9 against Leroy since October of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Indians will be playing at home against the Bears at 7:00 p.m. Both teams are still undefeated (Southern Choctaw has six wins , while Leroy has seven dating back to last season).
Southern Choctaw is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They blew past Fruitdale 60-8 on Friday. The Indians might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four games by 25 points or more this season.
Southern Choctaw can attribute much of their success to Ray Bender, who rushed for 192 yards and three scores on only eight carries, and Christopher Bush, who rushed for 158 yards and a pair of touchdowns on only eight carries. Bender really tore up the turf during one magnificent 90-yard run. Another big playmaker for Southern Choctaw was Jerdarius Nickelson, who returned a punt for a touchdown.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Southern Choctaw was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 352 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Southern Choctaw's defense stepped up as well, laying out Brantlee Seals six times. Leading the way was Demarco Johnson with two sacks.
Meanwhile, you're bound to get a positive result if you outscore your opponent every quarter and that's exactly how it played out for Leroy on Friday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that they blew Marengo out of the water with a 60-20 final score. The Bears are also no stranger to big wins: their blowout was the fifth matchup they've won by 20+ points this season.
Southern Choctaw better focus on containing Ja'Kavien Collins and Jace Sellers as the pair were huge in Leroy's win. Collins gained 129 total yards and three touchdowns, while Sellers threw for 252 yards and five TDs on only 19 passes. Those five passing touchdowns gave Sellers a new career-high. Keegan Giles helped Sellers out on the ground, picking up 33 receiving yards and one score, while also rushing for 68 yards on only seven carries.
Leroy 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 Cory Yelder. Leroy got some further help from Sawyer Sullivan: he picked up a sack and made ten total tackles (4.0 for loss).
Southern Choctaw's victory bumped their record up to 6-0. As for Leroy, their win bumped their record up to 7-0.
Southern Choctaw might still be hurting after the 28-6 defeat they got from Leroy in their previous matchup back in October of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Collins, who rushed for 153 yards and a pair of touchdowns while picking up 8.1 yards per carry, and also picked up 56 receiving yards and one TD. Now that the Indians know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
