Preview: Iowa Colony Pioneers vs. El Campo Ricebirds
Iowa Colony is 0-1 against El Campo since October of 2022 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Iowa Colony Pioneers will look to defend their home field against the El Campo Ricebirds at 7:00 p.m. Iowa Colony has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 319 points over their last seven games.
Iowa Colony had a rough season last year, but they looks ready to turn that poor record around this year. They took down Navasota 37-21 on Friday. Given Iowa Colony's advantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 160th, while Navasota is ranked 416th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Carson White and Aaron Tenner were among the main playmakers for Iowa Colony as the former rushed for 35 yards and two touchdowns and the latter gained 226 total yards and a touchdown. Landrew Ward did his part to keep the secondary busy, picking up 100 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Meanwhile, El Campo was beaten by Needville 56-28 on Friday. El Campo was in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 35-14.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Ja?Kwuan Hudlin, who rushed for 185 yards and two touchdowns. Another player making a difference was Stephen Norman, who rushed for 96 yards and a touchdown.
Iowa Colony's victory lifted them to 7-0 while El Campo's loss dropped them down to 3-4.
Friday's matchup might be decided on the ground as these two are both standouts in the run game. Iowa Colony has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 198.1 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like El Campo struggles in that department as they've been even better at 234.6 per game. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Iowa Colony was taken down by El Campo 62-17 in their previous matchup back in October of 2022. Thankfully for Iowa Colony, Rueben Owens (who rushed for 214 yards and three touchdowns on only 14 carries) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
