Bowie hasn't had much luck against Lake Travis recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Bowie Bulldogs will play host again on Friday to welcome the Lake Travis Cavaliers, where kickoff is scheduled at 7:30 p.m. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
While Bowie didn't have the best season last year (they finished 4-7), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They secured a 28-24 W over Judson on Friday. Given the Bulldogs' advantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 131st, while the Rockets are ranked 362nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Cruz Tello continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, throwing for 171 yards and two touchdowns on only 16 passes, while also rushing for 47 yards and a touchdown. Another player making a difference was Kayson Mathabela, who rushed for 87 yards and a touchdown.
Another reason for the win was Bowie's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for four sacks. Sean Dougherty was especially locked on to Judson's QB and sacked him twice. Dougherty is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made five or more in the last four games he's played dating back to last season. Reagan Cooper was another major factor on D, making 18 total tackles (1.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, Lake Travis put another one in the bag on Thursday to keep their perfect season alive. They blew past San Marcos 62-13 at home. That looming 62-13 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Cavaliers yet this season.
A big part of Lake Travis' win came down to the chemistry between Chaston Ditta and his top target Patrick Colby. Ditta threw for 189 yards and three touchdowns on only 14 passes while Colby picked up 166 receiving yards and two touchdowns. The team also got some help courtesy of Logan King, who rushed for 57 yards and a touchdown.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Lake Travis was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 225 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 152 rushing yards in four consecutive matches.
Bowie's victory bumped their record up to 4-0. As for Lake Travis, their win bumped their record up to an identical 4-0.
Friday's contest might be decided in the on the ground. Bowie has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 175.8 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Lake Travis struggles in that department as they've been averaging 196.5. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Bowie was dealt a bruising 66-14 loss at the hands of Lake Travis in their previous meeting back in November of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Ditta, who threw for 336 yards and five touchdowns while completing 72.4% of his passes, and also rushed for 30 yards. Now that Bowie knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
