Football Preview: Rockwall-Heath Hawks vs. Tyler Legacy Raiders
The Rockwall-Heath Hawks will head out on the road to face off against the Tyler Legacy Raiders at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both might be coming in a bit winded given these two teams combined for 914 yards in their previous games.
Rockwall-Heath is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They claimed a resounding 43-12 win over Mansfield Legacy at home. Given the Hawks' advantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 90th, while the Broncos are ranked 439th), the result on Friday wasn't entirely unexpected.
A big part of Rockwall-Heath's victory came down to the chemistry between Prosper Neal and his top target Shawn J Gary Ii. Neal threw for 177 yards and three touchdowns while completing 72.2% of his passes while Gary Ii picked up 158 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Rockwall-Heath also got a significant boost from Ashton Bradford, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 118 yards.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Rockwall-Heath was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 220 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in September of 2023.
Meanwhile, Tyler Legacy had to endure a six-game losing streak dating back to last season, but that streak is no more. They walked away with a 32-25 win over Crowley on Friday.
Tyler Legacy wouldn't let Crowley keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force three fumbles. Tyler Legacy can thank Simeon Garner and Nathan Kirksey for forcing all of them. Kirksey is also crushing it when it comes to total tackles: he's made at least ten every time he's taken the field this season. Ethan Brown was another major factor on D, making ten total tackles (1.0 for loss) and snagged an interception.
The victory made it two in a row for Rockwall-Heath and bumps their season record up to 2-2. As for Tyler Legacy, their win (their first of the season) made their record 1-3.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Rockwall-Heath has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 157 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Tyler Legacy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 181.2. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Everything came up roses for Rockwall-Heath against Tyler Legacy in their previous meeting back in October of 2023, as the squad secured a 34-7 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Rockwall-Heath since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
