The Van Buren Pointers will square off against the Southside Mavericks at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Van Buren knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 31 points or more in their past six games -- so hopefully Southside likes a good challenge.
Van Buren is headed into the matchup after thoroughly thrashing Lake Hamilton: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that the Pointers blew the Wolves out of the water with a 36-7 final score. The contest was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 20-0.
Hayden Williford
| 10/10/25 vs Lake Hamilton | 158.1 |
| 09/27/24 @ Russellville | 138.6 |
| 09/26/25 vs Russellville | 137.1 |
| 10/04/24 vs Siloam Springs | 133.5 |
| 08/29/24 @ Alma | 122.4 |
Van Buren's win on Friday was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Hayden Williford, who threw for 284 yards and three TDs while completing 77.3% of his passes, and also punched in one touchdown on the ground. The dominant performance also gave Williford a new career-high in passer rating (158.1). Austin Riggs was another key receiver, picking up 149 receiving yards and a pair of scores.
Van Buren didn't let much get past them through the air: they limited Lake Hamilton to a completion percentage of just 50%. The Pointers weren't nearly as limited: they posted one of 75%.
Meanwhile, Southside faced Shiloh Christian in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Friday. The Mavericks were dealt a 52-24 defeat at the hands of the Saints.
Although Southside took the loss, they still got scores from Peyton Zimmerman, Sebastian Luht, and Colton Viengthong.
Van Buren pushed their record up to 4-2 with the win, which was their third straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 41.7 points over those games. As for Southside, their loss dropped their record down to 4-2.
The upcoming game will be a clash of competing strengths. Van Buren has relied on air attacks this season and has averaged 295 passing yards per game. Southside, on the other hand, has relied on a stout run game: they average 198.5 rushing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Friday? There's only one way to find out.
Van Buren strolled past Southside in their previous meeting back in October of 2024 by a score of 42-28. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was the Mavericks' Jayden Webb, who picked up 153 receiving yards and a pair of TDs. Now that he won't be playing on Friday, will it be easier for the Pointers to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
