The Rockdale Tigers will head out to take on the Franklin Lions at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Rockdale is coming into the game on a five-game losing streak.
Rockdale is headed into the match out to prove that what happened against Troy on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Rockdale was outmatched by Troy at home and fell 62-28. While losing is never fun, the Tigers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 904th, while the Trojans are ranked 282nd).
Rockdale might have lost, but man, Deandre Stephens was a machine: he picked up 122 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Stephens' longest reception was for an incredible 72 yards. The team also got some help courtesy of Jeramiah Butler, who rushed for 99 yards and a touchdown.
Meanwhile, Franklin came tearing into Friday's contest with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 38 points) and they left with even more momentum. They claimed a resounding 76-35 win over the Yoemen. The Lions might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five matchups by 21 points or more this season.
Jayden Jackson was his usual excellent self, rushing for 290 yards and five touchdowns on only nine carries. That's the most rushing yards he has posted since back in December of 2023.
Franklin was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 290 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Franklin pushed their record up to 6-2 with the victory, which was their 13th straight on the road dating back to last season. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 51.8 points per game. As for Rockdale, their loss dropped their record down to 3-6.
Rockdale came up short against Franklin in their previous meeting back in September of 2023, falling 25-15. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Jackson, who rushed for 161 yards and two touchdowns on only 14 carries. Now that Rockdale 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
