Football Game Preview: De Leon Bearcats vs. Axtell Longhorns

The De Leon Bearcats will take on the Axtell Longhorns at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

De Leon is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They breezed past Frankston to the tune of 74-46. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Bearcats.

Heston Jobe was his usual excellent self, throwing for 379 yards and eight touchdowns while completing 83.3% of his passes. His passing game has become a key predictor of De Leon's success: the team is 8-1 when his passer rating is 100 or higher, but only 1-2 otherwise. Adan Salinas helped Jobe out on the ground, rushing for 152 yards and a pair of TDs.

De Leon's defensive line stepped up as well, laying out Tristan McCoy three times. The team can thank three different players for their defensive prowess: Trenton Zmeskal, Gage Heinz, and Eli Garza, who each picked up one sack apiece. Zmeskal was another major factor on D, picking up a sack, making eight total tackles (2.0 for loss), and defending two passes.

Meanwhile, Axtell took their contest on Friday with ease, bagging a 41-7 win over Tom Bean. The final result isn't all that surprising considering the Longhorns' considerable advantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 126th, while the Tomcats are ranked 445th).

De Leon's record now sits at 9-3. As for Axtell, their record is now 10-1.

Everything went De Leon's way against Axtell in their previous meeting back in November of 2018, as De Leon made off with a 41-21 victory. Will the Bearcats repeat their success, or do the Longhorns have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.