The Sanger Indians will face off against the Van Alstyne Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Sanger is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 32.8 points per game this season.
Sanger is likely headed into the match with a focus on the second half, which is when things went downhill against Caddo Mills on Friday. Sanger fell just short of Caddo Mills by a score of 28-26.
Despite their defeat, Sanger saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Joel Rodriguez, who picked up 120 receiving yards and a touchdown, was perhaps the best of all. Rodriguez showed off some serious burst, lighting up the secondary with a catch for 57 yards. Another back making a difference was Reginald Jones, who rushed for 130 yards.
Even if they lost, Sanger's defense still kept up the pressure with four sacks. In that department, Jj Mikas was the leader with two. He also set a new season high mark in total tackles with 11. Sanger got some further help from Max Taylor: he picked up a sack and made ten total tackles (2.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Van Alstyne, who bounced back after a loss on the road back in September. They enjoyed a cozy 47-33 victory over Krum on Friday. The win was some much needed relief for the Panthers as it spelled an end to their three-game losing streak.
Sanger dropped their record down to 2-4 with the loss, which was their fourth straight on the road. As for Van Alstyne, their victory bumped their record up to 2-3.
Sanger took a serious blow against Van Alstyne in their previous matchup back in September of 2023, falling 49-13. Thankfully for Sanger, Luke Juarez (who rushed for 65 yards and two touchdowns on only nine carries) 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
