Two dominant signal callers in Logan Mitchell and London Morgan are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Leander Lions are taking a road trip to take on the Rouse Raiders at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Leander is looking to tack on another W to their three-game streak on the road.
Leander is probably headed into the game with a chip on their shoulder considering Lake Belton just ended the team's three-game winning streak on Friday. They lost to the Broncos at home by a 29-15 margin. Despite 117 more yards than the Broncos, the Lions couldn't convert that extra yardage to scores.
Although Leander took the loss, they still got scores from Ryan Kazmir and Eric Hargrave.
Even though they lost, Leander was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 310 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 160 rushing yards in six consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, everything came up roses for Rouse on the road against Chaparral on Friday as the squad secured a 53-7 win. Given the Raiders' advantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 248th, while the Bobcats are ranked 637th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Morgan was his usual excellent self, throwing for 216 yards and three touchdowns while completing 76.9% of his passes, and also punching in a touchdown on the ground.
Special teams also played a big role in the game for Rouse, adding 13 points to the final score. All came courtesy of Connor Lyons: he went 3-for-3 kicking field goals for nine points, and 4-for-4 kicking extra points for an additional four.
Leander's loss dropped their record down to 4-3. As for Rouse, their victory ended a five-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 3-4.
The upcoming match will be a clash of competing strengths. Leander has deployed a run-first offense that has averaged 234.9 rushing yards a game. Meanwhile, Rouse has preferred to attack from the air: they average 283 passing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Friday? There's only one way to find out.
Leander ended up a good deal behind Rouse in their previous meeting back in September of 2015, losing 38-24. Can Leander 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
