The Mannford Pirates will venture away from home to take on the McLoud Redskins at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.
Last Friday, Mannford had to suffer through a 61-22 loss at the hands of Sequoyah. The Pirates were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 27-6.
Despite the defeat, Mannford saw an underclassman step up: Luke Naylor rushed for 85 yards and two touchdowns on only 12 carries. Naylor got the majority of those rushing yards when he took off on a run that went for an incredible 54 yards.
Mannford's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged three passes before it was all said and done. It was truly a group effort as Braedyn Culver, Ayden Passmore, and Passmore picked up one apiece.
Meanwhile, there was early excitement for McLoud after they claimed the first score on Friday, but it was Tecumseh who ended up claiming the real prize. McLoud was just a hair shy of victory and fell 35-34 to Tecumseh. The Redskins haven't had much luck with the Savages recently, as the team's come up short the last five times they've met.
McLoud might have lost, but man, Shaun Hill was a machine: he rushed for 160 yards and two touchdowns. Zaylun Matlock got in on the action as well, returning a kick for a touchdown.
Mannford dropped their record down to 1-2 with the loss, which was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season. As for McLoud, they now also have a losing record at 1-2.
Friday's game might be decided in the on the ground. Mannford has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 194.3 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like McLoud struggles in that department as they've been averaging 201. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Mannford suffered a grim 20-0 defeat to McLoud in their previous meeting back in October of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Matlock, who picked up 57 receiving yards and two touchdowns, and also threw for 28 yards and a touchdown. Now that Mannford knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
