Preview: Silsbee Tigers vs. Gatesville Hornets
The Silsbee Tigers will play host again and welcome the Gatesville Hornets, where kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Silsbee had no problem doing just that on Thursday. They walked away with a 35-22 win over Sealy. Given Silsbee's advantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 106th, while Sealy is ranked 462nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Michael Moshier looked great while leading his team to the win, rushing for 12 yards and three touchdowns, while also throwing for 165 yards and a touchdown. Ashton Cartwright also helped out with an impressive 92 receiving yards.
Meanwhile, Gatesville gave up the first points last Friday, but they didn't let that get them down. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past Gonzales 34-31. The win made it back-to-back wins for Gatesville.
Rayshon Smith had an outrageously good game as he rushed for 186 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 8.5 yards per carry. Smith was no stranger to the big play, turning on the jets for a run that went for 63 yards.
Silsbee pushed their record up to 11-0 with that victory, which was their 12th straight at home dating back to last season. They've been dominating during the games in that stretch too, as they've won by an average of 33.67 points. As for Gatesville, they have been performing well recently as they've won six of their last eight matches, which provided a nice bump to their 7-4 record this season.
Friday's matchup might be decided on the ground as these two are both standouts in the run game. Silsbee has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 182.5 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Gatesville struggles in that department as they've been even better at 223.3 per game. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other football content.
