Football Preview: Alief Hastings Bears vs. Strake Jesuit Fighting Crusaders
Alief Hastings hasn't had much luck against Strake Jesuit recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Alief Hastings Bears will venture away from home to face off against the Strake Jesuit Fighting Crusaders at 7:00 p.m. That match will pit two of the most dominant backs against one another: Sincere Nealy and John Hebert.
Last Thursday, Alief Hastings lost to Foster at home by a 21-6 margin.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Strake Jesuit). They were the clear victor by a 54-29 margin over Alief Taylor on Friday. Given the Fighting Crusaders' advantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 274th, while the Lions are ranked 644th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Hebert continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 292 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 12.2 yards per carry, and also catching a touchdown. Hebert is crushing it when it comes to rushing yards: he's rushed for at least 151 every time he's taken the field this season.
Strake Jesuit was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 362 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 244 rushing yards in eight consecutive matchups.
Strake Jesuit didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Daniel Yarbrough, Luke Omanga, and Otto Leone picked up one apiece. With that strong performance, Leone is now averaging an impressive 1.2 defended passes per game.
Alief Hastings' defeat dropped their record down to 2-6. As for Strake Jesuit, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a nice bump to their 5-3 record this season.
Friday's game might be decided in the on the ground. Alief Hastings has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 159.4 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Strake Jesuit struggles in that department as they've been averaging 324.6. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Alief Hastings came up short against Strake Jesuit in their previous meeting back in October of 2023, falling 20-14. Can Alief Hastings avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
