The Winnsboro Raiders will be staying on the road on Friday to face off against the Malakoff Tigers at 7:30 p.m. on December 1st. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Winnsboro had no problem doing just that on Friday. They blew past the Wildcats 72-17 on the road. Given Winnsboro's advantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 70th, while Whitney is ranked 223rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Meanwhile, Malakoff put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They blew past Grandview, posting a 42-7 victory at home. Malakoff's win was all the more impressive since Grandview was averaging only 17.46 points allowed on the season.
Malakoff's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Jerrion Hall led the charge by rushing for 112 yards and three touchdowns. Hall has been hot recently, having posted two or more rushing touchdowns the last three times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Mike Jones, who rushed for 92 yards and a touchdown on only ten carries.
Winnsboro's win bumped their record up to 12-0. As for Malakoff, their win was their 12th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 13-0.
Winnsboro took a serious blow against Malakoff in their previous matchup back in November of 2022, falling 55-10. Can Winnsboro avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
