Football Preview: La Vernia Bears vs. LBJ Austin Jaguars
La Vernia has been away from home for two games now, but on Thursday they'll finally make their return. They will welcome the LBJ Austin Jaguars at 7:30 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
La Vernia is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They blew past Tuloso-Midway 49-17.
Sean Garza continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 199 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 7.1 yards per carry. He is on a roll when it comes to rushing touchdowns, as he's now punched in two or more in the last four games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Ty Carter, who rushed for 131 yards and a touchdown on only 13 carries.
La Vernia was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 470 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
La Vernia didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Kolby Gates, Cooper Null, and Aden Hajek picked up one apiece.
Meanwhile, LBJ Austin put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They blew past Fredericksburg, posting a 42-14 victory. Given the Jaguars' advantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 149th, while the Billies are ranked 639th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Ali Scott, who threw for 330 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 15.0 yards per attempt, and also rushed for 48 yards and a touchdown. Javarlyn Smith was another key player, picking up 151 receiving yards and a touchdown.
La Vernia's win was their eighth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 8-3. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 49.1 points per game. As for LBJ Austin, their victory bumped their record up to 11-0.
Thursday's contest might be decided in the on the ground. La Vernia has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 284.3 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like LBJ Austin struggles in that department as they've been averaging 211. It's looking like Thursday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
La Vernia was dealt a bruising 54-7 defeat at the hands of LBJ Austin when the teams last played back in November of 2021. Thankfully for La Vernia, Oscar Gordon Iii (who threw for 191 yards and three touchdowns while completing 75% of his passes) 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
