Two dominant signal callers in Jack Emerson and Kelden Ryan are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Willis Wildkats will square off against the DeSoto Eagles at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. Willis will be coming into the matchup with an undefeated record on the line.
Willis is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They snuck past Tomball with a 28-24 victory. Given the Wildkats' advantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 19th, while the Cougars are ranked 69th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Emerson continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, throwing for 283 yards and three touchdowns while completing 73.5% of his passes, and also rushing for 87 yards on only seven carries. He has been hot for a while, having posted three or more passing touchdowns the last ten times he's played.
Meanwhile, DeSoto waltzed into their match on Thursday with five straight wins... but they left with six. They claimed a resounding 51-17 win over the Raiders. The result was nothing new for the Eagles, who have now won nine contests by 32 points or more so far this season.
It was another big night for Deondrae Riden Jr., who rushed for 300 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 9.4 yards per carry. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in rushing yards. The team also got some help courtesy of Ryan, who rushed for 30 yards and a touchdown.
DeSoto was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 430 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 181 rushing yards in 27 consecutive games dating back to last season.
DeSoto didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Jordan Stevens and Ryan Pelly. Another thorn in Wylie East's side was Keylan Abrams, who picked up a sack and made seven total tackles (2.0 for loss).
Willis' record is now 12-0. As for DeSoto, their record is now 10-2.
The upcoming matchup will be a clash of competing strengths. Willis has relied on air attacks this season and has averaged 321.1 passing yards per game. DeSoto, on the other hand, has relied on a stout run game: they average 307.5 rushing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Saturday? There's only one way to find out.
Willis was dealt a bruising 65-31 loss at the hands of DeSoto in their previous meeting back in November of 2023. Thankfully for Willis, Darius Bailey (who threw for 137 yards and four touchdowns while completing 75% of his passes, and also rushed for 60 yards and a touchdown on only six 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.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
