Castleberry is 0-4 against Springtown since November of 2014 but things could change on Thursday. The Castleberry Lions will square off against the Springtown Porcupines at 7:00 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both will really light up the scoreboard.
Castleberry is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They breezed by Life Waxahachie to the tune of 83-33 on Thursday. The Lions might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won three contests by 45 points or more this season.
Demetrius Valadez went supernova for Castleberry, throwing for 255 yards and five touchdowns while completing 85% of his passes, and also rushing for 125 yards and two touchdowns on only eight carries. Those 125 rushing yards gave Valadez a new career-high. Backing up that air attack was Isaiah Ford, who rushed for 186 yards and two rushing touchdowns.
Castleberry was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 442 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 170 rushing yards in 12 consecutive matches dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Springtown had already won eight in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 37.6 points) and they went ahead and made it nine last Friday. They had just enough and edged the Eagles out 41-38. The defensive woes were uncharacteristic for the Porcupines, who until this matchup were averaging 12 points allowed.
Kaine Hill and Ryan Kirk were among the main playmakers for Springtown as the former threw for 170 yards and three touchdowns and the latter rushed for 166 yards and a touchdown while picking up 10.4 yards per carry. Kirk really tore up the turf during one magnificent 80-yard run. Karson Ferguson was another key player, picking up 74 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Springtown didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Darren Sweely. He has been hot recently, having also posted five or more total tackles the last three times he's played. Rome Ewell was another major factor on D, making 19 total tackles (1.0 for loss).
Springtown pushed their record up to 9-1 with the win, which was their fourth straight on the road. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 47.3 points per game. As for Castleberry, the victory got them back to even at 5-5.
Thursday's game might be decided in the on the ground. Castleberry has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 294.9 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Springtown struggles in that department as they've been averaging 214.2. It's looking like Thursday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Castleberry was taken down by Springtown 66-33 in their previous meeting back in October of 2017. Thankfully for Castleberry, Cameron Rickett (who rushed for 192 yards and three touchdowns on only eight carries) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
