Hays has gone 8-2 against Liberal recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Hays Indians will look to defend their home field against the Liberal Redskins at 7:00 p.m.
Hays is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Kansas' top teams: Great Bend, who was ranked 13th in their home state at the time (Hays was ranked 22nd). Hays lost 21-0 to Great Bend on Friday. The game marked the first time this year in which the Indians were not able to get on the board.
Meanwhile, after only seven points in their last match, Liberal made sure to put some points up on the board against Ulysses on Friday. Liberal blew past Ulysses, posting a 53-6 victory on the road. The result was nothing new for the Redskins, who have now won three matchups by 47 points or more so far this season.
Liberal's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was James Fieser, who picked up 96 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Fieser got the majority of those receiving yards when he pulled down a pass and took off for a gain of 67 yards. The team also got some help courtesy of Ayden Juarez, who rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown on only seven carries.
Hays moved to 4-3 with that loss, which also ended their three-game winning streak. As for Liberal, their victory was their sixth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 5-2.
Hays beat Liberal 48-41 when the teams last played back in October of 2023. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Liberal's J. Brooks Kappelmann, who rushed for 178 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 8.1 yards per carry, and also threw for 172 yards and two touchdowns. Now that he won't be playing on Friday, will it be easier for Hays to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
