The Midlothian Panthers will square off against the Lake Belton Broncos at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Midlothian is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 34.9 points per game this season.
Midlothian is probably headed into the game with a chip on their shoulder considering Highland Park just ended the team's eight-game winning streak on Thursday. They lost to the Scots at home by a 38-21 margin. While losing is never fun, the Panthers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 91st, while the Scots are ranked 27th).
Despite the loss, Midlothian saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Justice Roberts rushed for 113 yards, and also threw for 49 yards and a touchdown. Those 113 rushing yards gave Roberts a new career-high. Kentorion King was another key player, gaining 110 total yards and a touchdown.
Even though they lost, Midlothian was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 298 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 195 rushing yards in nine consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Lake Belton, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Friday. They blew past Chaparral 48-7 on Thursday. The match marked the Broncos' most dominant victory of the season.
A big part of Lake Belton's win came down to the chemistry between Maverik Maddux and his top target Davion Peters. Maddux threw for 249 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 10.8 yards per attempt while Peters gained 170 total yards and three touchdowns. Peters was no stranger to the big play, cutting upfield on a catch that went for 59 yards. Tekoa Martin helped Maddux out on the ground, rushing for 95 yards and a touchdown.
Lake Belton pushed their record up to 7-3 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 36.0 points per game. As for Midlothian, their defeat ended a four-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 8-2.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Midlothian has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 271.4 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Lake Belton struggles in that department as they've been averaging 209.2. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Midlothian took their win against Lake Belton when the teams last played back in October of 2023 by a conclusive 49-28. Will Midlothian repeat their success, or does Lake Belton have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
