Two dominant backs in Bralen Smith and Vudrico Roberson are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. After each having a week off, the Grand Prairie Gophers and the Haltom Buffalos will shake off the cobwebs and take on one another at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday.
Last Friday, Grand Prairie took a blow against Martin, falling 55-20. The defeat continues a trend for the Gophers in their matchups with the Warriors: they've now lost four in a row.
Despite the loss, Grand Prairie had strong showings from Smith, who rushed for 172 yards and a touchdown while picking up 8.6 yards per carry, and Michael Green, who picked up 93 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Smith showed off some serious burst, turning on the afterburners on one carry for 52 yards.
Even though they lost, Grand Prairie was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 224 rushing yards. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved they're rushing yard total in three consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Haltom). They secured a 38-33 W over Lamar last Friday.
This one was won in the trenches and the lion's share of the credit has to go to Roberson and he. Roberson rushed for 121 yards and two touchdowns while he rushed for 121 yards and two touchdowns. His rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his third straight game with at least 121 rushing yards dating back to last season.
Haltom wouldn't let Lamar keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Haltom can thank Logan Lange and Damien Wayne for forcing both of them. Wayne also set a new season high mark in total tackles with six.
Grand Prairie's defeat dropped their record down to 1-4. As for Haltom, their victory ended a seven-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 2-3.
Grand Prairie beat Haltom 44-36 in their previous matchup back in September of 2017. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Haltom's Michael Black, who rushed for 185 yards and three touchdowns on only 15 carries, and also threw for 221 yards and two touchdowns. Now that he won't be playing on Thursday, will it be easier for Grand Prairie to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
