Football Recap: Keiundrae Ekwuruke and Andrevian Hampton-Ford Pace Tyler Defense

Caden J Granberry

Passing Touchdowns

10/10/25 vs Cleburne	6
09/26/25 vs Highland Park	3
09/12/25 vs Seagoville	3
10/03/25 @ Joshua	2
09/19/25 @ Lufkin	2
+ 2 more games

Tyler won the last time they faced Cleburne and Caden J Granberry did his part to make sure it happened again. The Lions claimed a resounding 66-30 victory over the Yellowjackets for which the team can thank J Granberry, who threw for 244 yards and six TDs while completing 72.2% of his passes. Tyler is 2-1 when J Granberry posts three or more passing touchdowns, but 1-3 otherwise.

Tyler didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Keiundrae Ekwuruke and Andrevian Hampton-Ford. Hampton-Ford has been hot recently, having also posted six or more total tackles the last four times he's played. Another thorn in Cleburne's side was James Collier, who picked up a sack, forced one fumble, and made four total tackles (2.0 for loss).

Cleburne lost on Friday despite a true team effort on offense. The best among them was CJ Kensley, who picked up 117 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns. The team also got some help courtesy of Desmond Taylor, who rushed for 71 yards and two scores on only five carries.

The win made it two in a row for Tyler and bumps their season record up to 3-4. As for Cleburne, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 2-4.

Coming up, Tyler will challenge Centennial at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. As for Cleburne, they wasted no time getting back out on the field and have already played their next matchup, a 56-28 defeat against Midlothian on the 10th.