Preview: Stephenville Yellow Jackets/Honeybees vs. Alvarado Indians
Two dominant signal callers in Ryan Gafford and Cardea Collier are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Stephenville Yellow Jackets/Honeybees will head out on the road to face off against the Alvarado Indians at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Stephenville will be looking to extend their current four-game winning streak.
Last Thursday, Stephenville beat China Spring 31-21.
Tate Maruska was the offensive standout of the match as he rushed for 142 yards and two touchdowns. Another player making a difference was Gafford, who threw for 221 yards while picking up 11.1 yards per attempt.
Stephenville's defense stepped up as well, laying out the QB 4.5 times. China Spring's QB won't forget Justin Stephens anytime soon given Stephens sacked him four times.
Meanwhile, Alvarado suffered a tough 49-28 defeat at the hands of La Vega last Friday. Alvarado was down 35-14 at the end of the third quarter, and things only got worse from there.
Alvarado might have lost, but man, Collier was a machine: he rushed for 170 yards and a touchdown while picking up 8.9 yards per carry, and also threw for 249 yards and a touchdown. Collier's longest rush was for an incredible 72 yards. Cade Lee also deserves a shout-out for his two touchdowns.
Stephenville's win was their fourth straight at home, bumping their overall record up to 6-2. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 34.5 points per game. As for Alvarado, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 5-3.
Stephenville and Alvarado were almost perfectly matched up when the teams last played back in October of 2022, but Stephenville suffered an agonizing 50-49 loss. Can Stephenville avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
