Football Preview: Grand Oaks Grizzlies vs. Willis Wildkats
Two dominant signal callers in Grant Smith and Jack Emerson are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Grand Oaks Grizzlies will be playing at home against the Willis Wildkats at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The timing isn't great for Grand Oaks: they have been struggling with three straight losses at home, while Willis has snatched up four consecutive wins on the road.
Last Friday, Grand Oaks was able to grind out a solid victory over Oak Ridge, taking the game 49-41.
A big part of Grand Oaks' win came down to the chemistry between Smith and his top target Preston Cloud. Smith threw for 423 yards and five touchdowns while completing 73.9% of his passes while Cloud picked up 164 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Keilan Gause helped Smith out on the ground, rushing for 95 yards and a touchdown.
Meanwhile, Willis won against Conroe last Friday with 63 points and they decided to stick to that point total again on Friday. Willis really took it to Oak Ridge for the full four quarters, racking up a 63-17 victory. The Wildkats might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won seven contests by 24 points or more this season.
Willis had a senior duo take command as Emerson threw for 270 yards and five touchdowns while completing 72.7% of his passes and Terri Lawrence gained 108 total yards and three touchdowns. Emerson has been hot , having posted three or more passing touchdowns the last seven times he's played. Jalen Mickens was another key player, picking up 114 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Grand Oaks' win bumped their record up to 5-3. As for Willis, their victory bumped their record up to 9-0.
Grand Oaks was dealt a bruising 62-13 defeat at the hands of Willis in their previous matchup back in September of 2023. Thankfully for Grand Oaks, Derek Lagway (who threw for 335 yards and six touchdowns while completing 75% of his passes, and also rushed for 41 yards and a touchdown) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
