The Rudder Rangers will venture away from home to square off against the Belton Tigers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Rudder has given up an average of 41 points per game this season, but Friday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Rudder is headed into the matchup out to prove that what happened against Brenham on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. The Rangers were beaten by the Cubs 53-13. The Rangers were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 50-7.
Although Rudder took the loss, they still got scores from Sylas Sullivan and Jordan Olivia.
Meanwhile, Belton was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Friday as they fell 33-27 to University.
Rudder will have to contain Will Shepard as he made an impact in Belton's last game. He rushed for 98 yards and one score, and also threw for 98 yards and one touchdown. The bulk of those rushing yards came from one huge play: a run that gained an incredible 53 yards.
Belton 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 Lyric McGinnis. Belton got some further help from Alex Carpenter: he picked up a sack and made nine total tackles (3.0 for loss).
Belton has traveled a rocky road recently, having lost four of their last five games. That's put a noticeable dent in their 3-4 record this season. That patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 30.8 points over those games. As for Rudder, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-6.
Rudder came up short against Belton in their previous meeting back in October of 2024, falling 38-34. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Shepard, who rushed for 82 yards and a pair of TDs, and also threw for 247 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Now that the Rangers know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
