The Leesville Wampus Cats will take on the Benton Tigers at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams might be coming in a bit winded given these two teams combined for 901 yards in their previous games.
Leesville is likely headed into the game with a focus on the second half, which is when things went downhill against Pineville on Friday. The Wampus Cats fell 28-21 to the Rebels. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last four times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.
Despite their defeat, Leesville saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Grant Braxton, who rushed for 145 yards and one TD, and also picked up 36 receiving yards, was perhaps the best of all. Another passer making a difference was Trel Broom, who threw for 247 yards and a pair of touchdowns on only 19 passes.
Meanwhile, Benton was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their eighth straight loss dating back to last season. They took a 59-48 hit to the loss column at the hands of Captain Shreve. The Tigers were down 52-28 at the end of the third quarter, which was just too much to recover from.
Leesville will have to contain Malachi Zeigler as he made an impact in Benton's last game. He threw for 373 yards and four TDs while picking up 11.0 yards per attempt, and also rushed for 70 yards and one score on only seven carries. Greg Chambers was another key back, gaining 75 total yards and two touchdowns.
Even if they lost, Benton's defensive line still kept up the pressure with four sacks. In that department, Landon Blankenship was the leader with two.
Benton's defeat dropped their record down to 0-4. As for Leesville, their loss dropped their record down to 1-3.
The upcoming matchup will be a clash of competing strengths. Leesville has deployed a run-first offense that has averaged 182.2 rushing yards a game. Meanwhile, Benton has preferred to attack from the air: they average 266.2 passing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Thursday? There's only one way to find out.
Everything came up roses for Leesville against Benton in their previous matchup back in October of 2024, as the squad secured a 44-0 win. Do the Wampus Cats have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Tigers turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
