Football Game Preview: Phillips Bears vs. Hackleburg Panthers + How To Watch

Phillips hasn't had much luck against Hackleburg recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Bears will venture away from home to square off against the Panthers at 7:00 p.m. Phillips will aim to continue their three-game streak of scoring more points each contest than the last.

Phillips was handed a heart-breaking two-point defeat in their last matchup, but they sure didn't let that happen against Cherokee on Friday. The Bears blew past the Indians 36-12. The game was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point the Bears had established a 23-point advantage.

A big part of Phillips' win came down to the chemistry between Trey Tidwell and his top target Adarian Thompson. Tidwell rushed for 51 yards and one TD while Thompson picked up 61 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something Phillips proved: they limited Cherokee to a paltry 2.3 yards per carry. The team can thank Hasten Bickerstaff for the heroic effort on defense: he. Phillips' run defense has been on the up-and-up: they allowed 2.57 yards per carry earlier this season, but they've only allowed 4.37 on average over their last five games.

Meanwhile, Hackleburg got themselves on the board against Vina on Friday, but Vina never followed suit. They breezed past the Red Devils to the tune of 42-0. The high-flying offensive performance was a huge turnaround for the Panthers considering their ten-point performance the contest before.

Hackleburg's victory bumped their record up to 4-2. As for Phillips, their win ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 2-4.

Phillips took a serious blow against Hackleburg when the teams last played back in October of 2024, falling 53-0. Can the Bears avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.