The Emerson Mavericks will venture away from home to square off against the Argyle Eagles at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Emerson is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They really took it to Independence for the full four quarters, racking up a 63-7 victory. The Mavericks pushed the score to 56-7 by the end of the third, a deficit the Knights had no chance of recovering from.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Emerson to victory, but perhaps none more so than DJ Shelton, who threw for 198 yards and two touchdowns while completing 73.3% of his passes, and also punched in a touchdown on the ground. Kameron Lockhart was in the mix too, providing Emerson with two touchdowns.
Emerson was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 333 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in November of 2023.
Emerson wouldn't let Independence keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Emerson can thank Ryan Daniel and Agape Lawrence for forcing both of them. Lawrence is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made six or more in the last five games he's played. Another thorn in Independence's side was Jaxon Cannida, who picked up 2.5 sacks and made seven total tackles (4.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, Argyle entered their tilt with The Colony on Friday with eight consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with nine. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat the Cougars 37-6. Given the Eagles' advantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 23rd, while the Cougars are ranked 312th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Argyle's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Watson Bell led the charge by rushing for 132 yards and a touchdown. That's the most rushing yards Bell has posted since back in September. Another player making a difference was Maguire Gasperson, who rushed for 47 yards and a touchdown.
Argyle's win was their tenth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 9-1. Those good results were due in large part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 14.6 points per game. As for Emerson, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 7-3.
Friday's match might be decided in the on the ground. Emerson has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 166.9 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Argyle struggles in that department as they've been averaging 199.6. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Emerson came up short against Argyle when the teams last played back in October of 2023, falling 41-34. Can Emerson 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
