Malakoff has won 14 straight games at home (dating back to last season), while Jefferson has won 14 straight on the road also dating back to last season, but those streaks won't matter much on Friday. The Malakoff Tigers will host the Jefferson Bulldogs at 2:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Malakoff is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They blew past Maypearl, posting a 70-7 victory. Given the Tigers' advantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 72nd, while the Panthers are ranked 383rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Mike Jones was his usual excellent self, rushing for 102 yards and two touchdowns, while also throwing for 148 yards and three touchdowns while completing 80% of his passes. He showed off some serious burst, turning on the afterburners on one carry for 67 yards. Another player making a difference was Jerrion Hall, who rushed for 81 yards and two touchdowns.
Malakoff was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 362 rushing yards. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 257.3 rushing yards per game earlier this season, but in their last five matchups they've averaged 0.
Malakoff didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Michael Elliot and Jason Tennyson.
Meanwhile, Jefferson humbled Grandview with a 62-18 victory.
Jefferson had a senior duo take command as Kamran Williams rushed for 199 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 8.0 yards per carry and Tihmyus Taylor threw for 193 yards and five touchdowns. The dominant performance also gave Taylor a new career-high in rushing yards (54). Jacoby Morrow was another key player, rushing for 54 yards and a touchdown.
Malakoff's win bumped their record up to 12-0. As for Jefferson, their victory bumped their record up to an identical 12-0.
Malakoff was able to grind out a solid win over Jefferson when the teams last played back in November of 2019, winning 53-41. Will Malakoff repeat their success, or does Jefferson have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
