The Lutheran South Academy Pioneers will face off against The Woodlands Christian Academy Warriors at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Lutheran South Academy comes in on three and The Woodlands Christian Academy on eight.
On Friday, Lutheran South Academy didn't have too much trouble with Fort Bend Christian Academy as they won 35-18.
Lutheran South Academy's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Carson Rocha led the charge by rushing for 124 yards and one touchdown while picking up 7.8 yards per carry. Rocha showed off some serious burst, turning on the afterburners on one carry for 52 yards. The team also got some help courtesy of Luke Mazur, who picked up 55 receiving yards and three TDs.
Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something Lutheran South Academy proved: they limited Fort Bend Christian Academy to a paltry 3.3 yards per carry. The team can thank Cade Griffin for the heroic effort on defense: he. Lutheran South Academy's run defense has been on the up-and-up: they allowed 4.78 yards per carry earlier this season, but they've only allowed 5.87 on average over their last five games.
Lutheran South Academy didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Noah Harris and Max Saldana.
Meanwhile, everything came up roses for The Woodlands Christian Academy against Kelly Catholic on Friday as the squad secured a 50-14 win. Considering the Warriors have won five contests by more than 19 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Lutheran South Academy better focus on containing Baron Meacham and Santiago Fernandez Villarreal as the pair were huge in The Woodlands Christian Academy's win. Meacham gained 131 total yards and three touchdowns, while Fernandez Villarreal threw for 223 yards and three touchdowns while completing 82.4% of his passes. The dominant performance also gave Meacham a new career-high in rushing yards (78). Landon Ho did his part to keep the secondary busy, picking up 84 receiving yards.
One reason for the win was The Woodlands Christian Academy's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for four sacks. Prince Holiday was particularly dangerous to the passing game, picking up two himself.
Lutheran South Academy's victory bumped their record up to 6-2. As for The Woodlands Christian Academy, their win bumped their record up to 8-0.
Friday's game might be decided on the ground. Lutheran South Academy has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 182.4 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like The Woodlands Christian Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 168.4 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's matchup turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Lutheran South Academy ended up a good deal behind The Woodlands Christian Academy when the teams last played back in November of 2024, losing 51-34. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Fernandez Villarreal, who rushed for 230 yards and four scores while picking up 9.6 yards per carry, and also threw for 127 yards and a pair of TDs while completing 88.9% of his passes. Now that the Pioneers know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
