The Waco Lions will face off against the Rudder Rangers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Waco is no doubt hoping to put an end to a ten-game streak of away losses dating back to last season.
Last Friday, Waco was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 29-23 to Belton. The Lions gained 97 more yards on the day, but it was the Tigers that made the best use of them.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Bryant Whitaker, who picked up 161 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Another signal caller making a difference was RJ Young, who threw for 247 yards and three touchdowns on only 16 passes.
Waco didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Isaiah Levingston and Jamal Johnson. Waco got some further help from Jaylen Gude: he picked up a sack and made 16 total tackles (2.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, Rudder was not able to break out of their rough patch last Thursday as the team picked up their third straight loss. They took a 54-41 hit to the loss column at the hands of Ellison. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game two weeks ago (34), the Rangers still had to take the loss.
Despite the defeat, Rudder got top-tier performance from Javyn Jessie, who threw for 305 yards and three touchdowns, and also rushed for 63 yards on only six carries. Those 63 rushing yards gave Jessie a new career-high. Brandon Cooks was another key player, picking up 78 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Waco's loss dropped their record down to 2-7. As for Rudder, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-3.
Everything came up roses for Waco against Rudder when the teams last played back in October of 2017, as the squad secured a 35-7 victory. In that match, Waco amassed a halftime lead of 21-0, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
