The Hulbert Riders will square off against the Pocola Indians at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Hulbert has given up an average of 26.3 points per game this season, but Friday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Hulbert is headed into the matchup out to prove that what happened against Panama on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. The Riders came up short against the Razorbacks, falling 40-14. The Riders have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Hulbert might have lost, but man, Cody Botts was a machine: he rushed for 114 yards and one score on only 11 carries. Botts got the majority of those rushing yards when he took off on a run that went for an incredible 65 yards.
Meanwhile, Pocola came up short against Rejoice Christian on Friday and fell 27-20. The loss continues a trend for the Indians in their meetings with the Eagles: they've now lost three in a row.
Hulbert will have to contain Jaryus Birdsong as he made an impact in Pocola's last game. He rushed for 69 yards and a pair of TDs, and also picked up 39 receiving yards.
Pocola's defeat dropped their record down to 3-2. As for Hulbert, their loss dropped their record down to 3-3.
The upcoming game will be a clash of competing strengths. Hulbert has deployed a run-first offense that has averaged 201.8 rushing yards a game. Meanwhile, Pocola has preferred to attack from the air: they average 294.4 passing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Friday? There's only one way to find out.
Hulbert took a serious blow against Pocola when the teams last played back in October of 2024, falling 60-16. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of the Indians' Jaseir Posey, who threw for 244 yards and five touchdowns while completing 73.3% of his passes. Now that the Riders 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
