The West Orange-Stark Mustangs will be playing in front of their home fans against the Jasper Bulldogs at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Both teams come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Friday, West Orange-Stark strolled past Bridge City with points to spare, taking the game 28-14. Given West Orange-Stark's advantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 214th, while Bridge City is ranked 491st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
West Orange-Stark can attribute much of their success to Marcus Turner, who threw for 95 yards and three touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Jasper got themselves on the board against Bridge City two weeks ago, but Bridge City never followed suit. They took their game at home with ease, bagging a 49-0 victory over the Cardinals. The result was nothing new for Jasper, who have now won three matches by 22 points or more so far this season.
Zykeelan Hadnot had an outrageously good game as he rushed for 199 yards and two touchdowns on only 11 carries. Hadnot's longest rush was for an incredible 81 yards. The team also got some help courtesy of Jacovian Adams, who rushed for 161 yards on only 11 carries.
West Orange-Stark's win on Friday bumped their record up to 4-4. As for Jasper, they now have a winning record of 4-3.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's contest: West Orange-Stark has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 208.8 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Jasper struggles in that department as they've been even better at 221.3 per game. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches.
West Orange-Stark suffered a grim 34-14 defeat to Jasper in their previous matchup back in October of 2022. Thankfully for West Orange-Stark, Zikeice Simmons (who rushed for 126 yards and three touchdowns, and also threw for 139 yards and two touchdowns) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
