The Sharyland Rattlers will face off against the Los Fresnos Falcons at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Sharyland's favor is that they have posted at least 31 points in their last three games.
Sharyland is likely headed into the contest with a focus on the second half, which is when things went downhill against Mercedes on Friday. The Rattlers were just a hair shy of victory and fell 34-33 to the Tigers. The loss was the Rattlers' first of the season.
The match pitted two dominant signal callers against one another in Calvin Harris and Diego Bravo. Bravo had a great game and threw for 227 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Meanwhile, Harris was balling out in the loss, rushing for 92 yards and three TDs on only eight carries, while also throwing for 220 yards on ten of 24 attempts.
Even if they lost, Sharyland's defensive line still kept up the pressure with four sacks. Leading the way was Mauricio Benavides with two. Michael Ryan Esquivel was another major factor on D, making 18 total tackles (1.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, Los Fresnos strolled into their game on Friday with a perfect record and they left with the same. They came within six points of losing the streak, but they secured a 21-15 W against Edinburg. Those 21 points were actually the fewest the Falcons have put up all season, but given the result they're probably not too concerned.
Sharyland better keep an eye on Robert Pineda. He was instrumental in Los Fresnos' win, rushing for 109 yards and one score, while also throwing for 102 yards on 13 of 21 attempts.
Los Fresnos' victory bumped their record up to 5-0. As for Sharyland, their loss was their first of the season and makes their record 4-1.
Friday's matchup might be decided on the ground. Sharyland has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 186 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Los Fresnos struggles in that department as they've been averaging 245.4 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's game turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Sharyland was taken down by Los Fresnos 70-33 when the teams last played back in October of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Pineda, who rushed for 217 yards and six touchdowns on only 15 carries, and also threw for 172 yards and a pair of TDs while completing 78.6% of his passes. Now that the Rattlers know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
