The Byron Nelson Bobcat will head out to challenge the Keller Indians at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Keller took a loss in their last contest and will be looking to turn the tables on Byron Nelson, who comes in off a win.
Byron Nelson is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They breezed past Timber Creek to the tune of 49-7 on Friday. The game was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 35-0.
Parker Almanza and Kooper Kennimer were among the main playmakers for Byron Nelson as the former threw for 210 yards and four TDs while completing 72% of his passes and the latter gained 103 total yards and two touchdowns. Kennimer also punched in a rushing touchdown, marking his first of the season.
Byron Nelson's defense stepped up as well, laying out the QB three times. The team can thank three different players for their defensive prowess: Fine Vailahi, Will Myers, and Jason Fadul, who each picked up one sack apiece. Byron Nelson received some extra help from Finley Maggard-Incerta, whose fumble return for a touchdown made for one of the most unforgettable moments.
Meanwhile, Keller played a tough matchup on Friday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They took a blow against Southlake Carroll, falling 63-28. The Indians haven't had much luck with the Dragons recently, as the team has come up short the last eight times they've met.
The match pitted two dominant signal callers against one another in Brock Burkett and Angelo Renda. Renda had a great game and threw for 401 yards and five touchdowns while completing 80.8% of his passes. Meanwhile, Burkett did his best for the losing side, throwing for 171 yards and a pair of TDs, while also rushing for 34 yards.
The win made it two in a row for Byron Nelson and bumps their season record up to 3-2. Those victories came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered a grand total of 20 points in those games. As for Keller, their loss dropped their record down to 3-3.
Byron Nelson came out on top in a nail-biter against Keller when the teams last played back in October of 2024, sneaking past 34-31. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Burkett, who rushed for 115 yards and a pair of scores, and also threw for 185 yards on 14 of 28 attempts. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will the Bobcat still be able to contain Burkett? There's only one way to find out.
