Football Game Preview: Palo Duro Dons vs. Legacy Leopards

The Palo Duro Dons will head out on the road to face off against the Legacy Leopards at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Palo Duro's favor is that they have posted at least 31 points in their last seven games.

Palo Duro had to skate by with only a three-point margin when they last took the field, which might have inspired the 30-point drubbing they dealt Plainview on Thursday. The Dons breezed past the Bulldogs to the tune of 55-25. The Dons haven't had any issues with the Bulldogs recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive victory against them.

Julian Reese II

Rushing Yards

10/23/25 vs Plainview	83
10/17/25 @ Lubbock-Cooper	39
10/10/25 vs Wylie	39
10/03/25 @ Memorial	31
09/19/25 @ Amarillo	52
+ 6 more games

Julian Reese II was his usual excellent self, throwing for 235 yards and four touchdowns on only 18 passes, while also rushing for 83 yards. That's the most rushing yards he has posted since back in October of 2024. Raymond Johnson helped out on the ground, rushing for 108 yards.

They were just one part of a punishing run game: Palo Duro was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 226 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 166 rushing yards in six consecutive contests.

Another reason for the win was Palo Duro's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for five sacks. Kyron Brown was especially locked on to Plainview's QB and sacked him three times. Palo Duro got some further help from Zachary Linton: he picked up a sack and made 14 total tackles (5.0 for loss).

Meanwhile, Legacy played a tough matchup on Thursday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They took a blow against Cooper, falling 53-24. While losing is never fun, the Leopards can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 610th, while the Cougars are ranked 199th).

Legacy's loss dropped their record down to 2-6. As for Palo Duro, their win bumped their record up to 7-1.

Everything came up roses for Palo Duro against Legacy in their previous matchup back in November of 2024, as the squad secured a 34-6 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Dons since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.