After each having a week off, the Jasper Eagles and the Liberal Bulldogs will shake off the rust and duke it out at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Neither Jasper nor Liberal posted many points in their last games, so it might be the defenses that decide this one.
Jasper's offense might be in the hot seat on Friday considering what happened against Appleton City/Montrose last Friday. They were beaten by Appleton City/Montrose 52-0. The game marked the first time this year in which the Eagles were not able to get on the board.
Meanwhile, Liberal had to suffer through a 70-6 loss at the hands of Archie. While losing is never fun, the Bulldogs can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Missouri football rankings (they are ranked 29th, while the Whirlwinds are ranked fifth).
Liberal has also traveled a rocky road recently, having lost four of their last five matchups. That's put a noticeable dent in their 4-5 record this season. As for Jasper, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-5.
Friday's contest might be decided on the ground. Jasper has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 218.1 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Liberal struggles in that department as they've been averaging 206.1 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's game turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Jasper didn't have too much breathing room in their matchup against Liberal in their previous meeting back in September, but they still walked away with a 24-18 victory. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was the Bulldogs' Elam Beaman, who rushed for 175 yards and one TD on only 14 carries, and also threw for 102 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will the Eagles still be able to contain Beaman? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
