The McGregor Bulldogs will square off against the Little River Academy Bumblebees at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Having both just faced considerable losses, both teams are looking to turn things around.
McGregor is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to 49 points last Friday, they were much more limited against Franklin on Friday. They were outmatched by the Lions on the road and fell 66-10. The contest marked the Bulldogs' lowest-scoring match so far this season.
Meanwhile, a victory for Little River Academy just wasn't in the cards on Friday as the squad wasn't able to take the lead at any point. They had to suffer through a 59-28 loss at the hands of Troy. While losing is never fun, the Bumblebees can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 755th, while the Trojans are ranked 263rd).
Despite the loss, Little River Academy got top-tier performance from Brian Grissom, who rushed for 206 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 11.4 yards per carry. Grissom showed off some serious burst, turning on the afterburners on one carry for 63 yards. The team also got some help courtesy of Vincent Williams, who gained 129 total yards.
Even though they lost, Little River Academy was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 271 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in November of 2023.
McGregor's defeat was their fourth straight on the road, which dropped their record down to 1-7. As for Little River Academy, this is the second loss in a row for them and also nudges their season record down to 1-7.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. McGregor has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 150.2 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Little River Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 174.2. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
McGregor might still be hurting after the 56-36 loss they got from Little River Academy when the teams last played back in October of 2023. Thankfully for McGregor, Kasey Mraz (who rushed for 166 yards and a touchdown on only seven carries, and also threw for 230 yards and four touchdowns while completing 84.6% of his passes) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps