Football Preview: Azle Hornets vs. Ryan Raiders
The Azle Hornets will square off against the Ryan Raiders at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Azle's favor is that they have posted at least 31 points every time they've taken the field this season.
Azle is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They came out on top against Fossil Ridge by a score of 54-43 on Friday. Given the Hornets' advantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 195th, while the Panthers are ranked 429th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Hagen Hughes continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 222 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 11.7 yards per carry, and also picking up 57 receiving yards. He really tore up the turf during one magnificent 70-yard run. Derrek Vowell was another key player, throwing for 269 yards and five touchdowns while completing 82.6% of his passes.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Azle was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 251 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 251 rushing yards in three consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Ryan, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Friday. They blew past Richland 44-19 on Friday. The result was nothing new for the Raiders, who have now won four games by 25 points or more so far this season.
Ryan's defense made their presence known, laying out Drew Kates. five times. Richland's QB won't forget Errol West anytime soon given he sacked him three times.
Azle pushed their record up to 6-0 with the win, which was their fifth straight on the road dating back to last season. As for Ryan, their victory bumped their record up to 5-1.
Azle was dealt a bruising 49-7 defeat at the hands of Ryan in their previous meeting back in September of 2023. That contest was all but decided by halftime, at which point Azle was down 28-0.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
