Houston is 2-8 against Mountain Grove since October of 2014 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. A feisty cat fight will be fought when Tigers faces off against the Mountain Grove Panthers at 7:00 p.m. Both are strolling into their games after big wins in their previous games.
Houston will roll into the match after a wild two-game stretch: they only put up seven points last Friday, then bounced right back against Willow Springs on Friday. Houston blew past Willow Springs, posting a 49-6 win at home. The score at the end of the third wound up being the final score as the Tigers just coasted through the last quarter.
Dj Riley was nothing short of spectacular: he threw for 205 yards and two touchdowns while completing 83.3% of his passes, and also punched in a touchdown on the ground. Houston also got help from Jordan Arthur, who showed off his sure hands for 129 receiving yards.
Houston wouldn't let Willow Springs keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Houston can thank Brayden Richardson and Bryson Alexander for forcing both of them.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Mountain Grove). They took their contest at home on Friday with ease, bagging a 60-6 victory over Salem. Given the Panthers' advantage in MaxPreps' Missouri football rankings (they are ranked 133rd, while the Tigers are ranked 277th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Mountain Grove was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 542 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 153 rushing yards in seven consecutive matchups.
Houston's record is now 5-2. As for Mountain Grove, they now have a winning record of 4-3.
Friday's game might be decided in the on the ground. Houston has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 232.4 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Mountain Grove struggles in that department as they've been averaging 307.3. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Houston lost to Mountain Grove on the road by a decisive 27-12 margin when the teams last played back in October of 2023. Can Houston avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
