The Emerson Mavericks will be staying on the road on Friday to face off against the Canutillo Eagles at 4:00 p.m. on November 17th. Emerson has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 597 points over their last 11 matches.
It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Emerson had no problem doing just that on Thursday. They came out on top against Grapevine by a score of 34-24. Given Emerson's advantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 128th, while Grapevine is ranked 296th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Emerson's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Michael Hawkins, who rushed for 213 yards and a touchdown while picking up 11.2 yards per carry. Another player making a difference was Kameron Lockhart, who rushed for 144 yards and three touchdowns on only 15 carries.
Meanwhile, Canutillo came tearing into Friday's contest with seven straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 38.2 points) and they left with even more momentum. They were the clear victor by a 28-7 margin over Palo Duro. Considering Canutillo has won seven matches by more than 20 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Canutillo's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Rene Huerta, who rushed for 130 yards and two touchdowns. The team also got some help courtesy of Jeremiah Knox, who rushed for 37 yards and two touchdowns.
Emerson's victory bumped their record up to 9-2. As for Canutillo, their win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 9-2.
