Preview: Red Oak Hawks vs. Granbury Pirates
The Red Oak Hawks will be playing at home against the Granbury Pirates at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Red Oak has eight straight wins, Granbury has five straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Even though Killeen scored an imposing 37 points on Friday, Red Oak still came out on top. Red Oak took down Killeen 56-37. Given Red Oak's advantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 51st, while Killeen is ranked 251st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Chris Martinez jr was his usual excellent self, rushing for 262 yards and five touchdowns while picking up 9.7 yards per carry, and also picking up 35 receiving yards. Martinez jr really tore up the turf during one magnificent 85-yard run. Another player making a difference was Reggie Moody, who threw for 263 yards and three touchdowns while completing 76% of his passes.
Red Oak's defensive line stepped up as well, laying out the QB eight times. It was a group effort, with three guys contributing.
Meanwhile, Granbury lost to Ellison on the road by a decisive 34-18 margin on Friday.
Loss or not, Granbury got some senior leadership from Jadon Rogers who rushed for 78 yards and a touchdown and Tyler Rodgers who gained 86 total yards and a touchdown.
Red Oak's win was their eighth straight at home, bumping their overall record up to 8-0. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 38.1 points per game. As for Granbury, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-5.
Thursday's matchup might be decided on the ground as these two are both standouts in the run game. Red Oak has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 191 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Granbury struggles in that department as they've been even better at 214.6 per game. It's looking like Thursday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Everything came up roses for Red Oak against Granbury in their previous meeting back in October of 2022 as the team secured a 55-0 win. Does Red Oak have another victory up their sleeve, or will Granbury turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
