Football Preview: Canyon Lake vs. Fredericksburg Billies
Canyon Lake are taking a road trip to challenge the Fredericksburg Billies at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Canyon Lake is coming into the match hot, having won their last four games.
Last Thursday, everything came up roses for Canyon Lake at home against John F. Kennedy as the team secured a 68-24 victory. Given Canyon Lake's advantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 485th, while John F. Kennedy is ranked 1104th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
James Garza and Jace Wheeler were among the main playmakers for Canyon Lake as the former rushed for 153 yards and three touchdowns on only seven carries and the latter threw for 213 yards and five touchdowns while completing 71.4% of his passes. With that strong performance, Garza is now averaging an impressive 106 rushing yards per game.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Canyon Lake was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 235 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 169 rushing yards in four consecutive games.
One reason for the win was Canyon Lake's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for four sacks. John F. Kennedy's QB won't forget Eli Hammons anytime soon given he sacked him twice. Hammons is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made nine or more in the last three games he's played dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Fredericksburg had to endure a six-game losing streak dating back to last season, but that streak is no more. They walked away with a 23-13 win over Uvalde on Friday. The score was all tied up 7-7 at the break, but the Billies were the (much) better team in the second half.
Aaron Cantu was a one-man wrecking crew for Fredericksburg as he rushed for 125 yards and a touchdown on only 11 carries. The dominant performance gave Cantu a new career-high in rushing yards. The team also got some help courtesy of Brooks Immel, who threw for 170 yards and a touchdown.
Canyon Lake pushed their record up to 4-1 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. As for Fredericksburg, their win (their first of the season) made their record 1-4.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the trenches. Canyon Lake has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 197.6 rushing yards per game. It's a different story for Fredericksburg, though, as they've been averaging only 80. How will they fare against such a dominant running game?
Canyon Lake beat Fredericksburg 52-43 when the teams last played back in September of 2023. The rematch might be a little tougher for Canyon Lake since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
