After each having a week off, the University Trojans and the Rudder Rangers will shake off the cobwebs and square off against one another at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams might be coming in a bit winded given these two teams combined for 876 yards in their previous games.
University took a loss when they played away from home back in September, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed two weeks ago. They walked away with a 28-21 win over Lampasas. The 28-point effort marked the Trojans' lowest-scoring matchup of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.
Keandre Brooks continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, picking up 220 receiving yards and two touchdowns. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 107.5 receiving yards per game.
Meanwhile, Rudder put another one in the bag last Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They blew past Fort Bend Willowridge 56-28 on the road. Given the Rangers' advantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 197th, while the Eagles are ranked 658th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Javyn Jessie, who threw for 275 yards and six touchdowns. He has been hot recently, having posted three or more passing touchdowns the last three times he's played. Brandon Cooks was Jessie's top target, picking up 78 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Rudder didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Denim Preston, Za?Montae Wells, and Randon Cooks picked up one apiece.
Special teams also deserves some recognition, posting 14 points in total. All those points came courtesy of Santiago Lugo: he added nine points with three field goals, and another five kicking extra points.
University pushed their record up to 4-1 with the victory, which was their ninth straight at home dating back to last season. As for Rudder, their record now sits at 5-0.
The upcoming game will be a clash of competing strengths. University has deployed a run-first offense that has averaged 212.4 rushing yards a game. Meanwhile, Rudder has preferred to attack from the air: they average 267.4 passing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Friday? There's only one way to find out.
University suffered a grim 42-21 defeat to Rudder in their previous matchup back in November of 2017. Can University avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
