The Lorena Leopards are taking a road trip to face off against the La Vega Pirates at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Lorena has given up an average of 41 points per game this season, but Friday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Lorena fought the good fight in their overtime game against China Spring on Friday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Cougars by a score of 49-47. The Leopards haven't had much luck with the Cougars recently, as the team has come up short the last seven times they've met.
Lorena's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Jaxon Blancett, who rushed for 43 yards and one score, and Carson Miller, who picked up 96 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns. Miller was no stranger to the big play, lighting up the secondary with a catch that went for 60 yards.
While Lorena came up short, they sure didn't make it easy for China Spring: they limited their QB to completion percentage of just 37.5%. The team can thank Miller for the heroic effort on defense: he. Lorena has been improving in that area: they had allowed a completion percentage of 0.59 earlier this season, but they've only allowed one of 0.59 in their last three games.
Meanwhile, La Vega entered their tilt with Connally on Friday with three consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with four. They were the clear victors by a 28-6 margin over the Cadets. The Pirates might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five contests by 21 points or more this season.
Lorena better keep an eye on Elbert Jones. He was instrumental in La Vega's win, rushing for 123 yards and a pair of TDs while picking up 7.2 yards per carry. What's more, Jones posted two rushing touchdowns, the most he's had since back in November of 2024.
La Vega's defense made their presence known, laying out Caden Coffman four times. In that department, Eddison King was the leader with three sacks.
La Vega's win bumped their record up to 7-2. As for Lorena, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-6.
The upcoming matchup will be a clash of competing strengths. Lorena has relied on air attacks this season and has averaged 308.9 passing yards per game. La Vega, on the other hand, has relied on a stout run game: they average 156.9 rushing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Friday? There's only one way to find out.
Lorena suffered a grim 41-21 defeat to La Vega in their previous meeting back in November of 2024. That game was all but decided by halftime, at which point the Leopards were down 28-0.
