Football Game Preview: Steele Knights vs. Canyon Cougars

Steele is a perfect 6-0 against Canyon since November of 2015 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Friday. The Knights will be playing at home against the Cougars at 7:30 p.m. Steele is coming into the game hot, having won their last four games.

On Friday, Steele didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against San Marcos, but they still walked away with a 27-21 win. The final result isn't all that surprising considering the Knights' considerable advantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 45th, while the Rattlers are ranked 148th).

The match pitted two dominant backs against one another in Jonathan Hatton and Justin Tardy. Hatton had a great game and gained 228 total yards and three touchdowns. Meanwhile, Tardy was balling out in the loss, rushing for 92 yards and one touchdown on only ten carries.

Julian Hugo

Total Tackles

10/24/25 @ San Marcos	9
10/09/25 vs Judson	7
10/03/25 @ East Central	8
09/26/25 vs Clemens	6
09/19/25 @ Westlake	7
+ 3 more games

On the defensive side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Steele's defense and their three sacks. Julian Hugo was especially locked on to San Marcos' QB and sacked him twice. Hugo is also crushing it when it comes to total tackles: he's made at least six every time he's taken the field this season. Pike Kempe was another major factor on D, picking up a sack, making 15 total tackles (2.5 for loss), and defending one pass.

Meanwhile, Canyon entered their matchup against Judson on Friday without any home losses, but there's a first time for everything. The Cougars were beaten by the Rockets 36-8. The game marked the Cougars' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.

Canyon's defeat was their first in the district, dropping their district record down to 3-1 and their overall record down to 5-3. As for Steele, their victory bumped their record up to 7-1.

Everything came up roses for Steele against Canyon in their previous matchup back in November of 2024, as the squad secured a 62-0 win. Will the Knights repeat their success, or do the Cougars have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.