Football Recap: Gavin Burch Leads Blue Ridge's Defense on Friday

Blue Ridge hadn't done well against Leonard recently (they were 1-6 in their previous seven matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Friday. Blue Ridge snuck past Leonard with a 32-27 win. Blue Ridge has seen this before: they got the W the last time they saw Leonard, too.

Jacob Walker produced another solid performance rushing for 149 yards and one touchdown while picking up 8.8 yards per carry. Another player making a difference was Liam Finan, who threw for 168 yards and one TD.

Tigers

Rushing Yards

10/10/25 vs Leonard	247
09/19/25 @ Honey Grove	246
08/29/25 vs Farmersville	224
10/03/25 @ S & S Consolidated	150
09/12/25 vs Bonham	118

They were just one part of a punishing run game: Blue Ridge was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 247 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.

On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Blue Ridge's defense and their three sacks. In fact, those sacks all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Gavin Burch. Tyse Lennon got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.

The victory made it two in a row for Blue Ridge and bumps their season record up to 3-2. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 40.5 points over those games. As for Leonard, their loss was their first in the district, dropping their district record down to 2-1 and their overall record down to 4-3.

We've got plenty of inter-district action coming up soon. Blue Ridge is set to face off against their familiar foe Bells at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Meanwhile, Leonard will square off against rival S & S Consolidated at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.