The Nacogdoches Dragons will take on the Whitehouse Wildcats at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The two teams might be coming in a bit winded given these two teams combined for 978 yards in their previous games.
Nacogdoches took a 28-point defeat the last time they faced off against Hallsville, but this time they managed to keep it close and that made all the difference. In a tight game that could have gone either way, the Dragons made off with a 21-20 victory over the Bobcats. The win was nothing new for the Dragons as they're now sitting on four straight.
Micah Lockett
| 10/10/25 @ Hallsville | 139 |
| 09/26/25 vs Jacksonville | 216 |
| 09/19/25 vs Rudder | 239 |
| 09/12/25 @ Livingston | 159 |
| 09/05/25 vs Lufkin | 160 |
Nacogdoches' win on Friday was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Micah Lockett, who picked up 139 receiving yards and a pair of TDs. Lockett's receiving production has been exceptional as that marked his fifth straight game with at least 139 receiving yards. Rj Whitaker was another key pass catcher, picking up 100 receiving yards and one score.
Nacogdoches' defense stepped up as well, laying out the QB three times. The team can thank three different players for their defensive prowess: Caden Thomas, Jeremiah Sanders-Garrett, and Idarius Whitaker, who each picked up one sack apiece. Landon Sherrard was another major factor on D, forcing one fumble, making 14 total tackles (3.0 for loss), and defending one pass.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Whitehouse). They simply couldn't be stopped on Friday as they easily beat Jacksonville 52-21. The victory continues a trend for the Wildcats in their matchups with the Fightin' Indians: they've now won nine in a row.
Whitehouse's win came from a few key players Nacogdoches will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Zion Alexander, who picked up 108 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns, and also rushed for 84 yards and one TD. His longest rush was for an incredible 76 yards. Another player making a difference was Austin Holmes, who threw for 255 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 11.1 yards per attempt.
Nacogdoches' win bumped their record up to 5-1. As for Whitehouse, their victory was their first in the district, bumping their district record up to 1-2 and their overall record up to 2-5.
The upcoming contest will be a clash of competing strengths. Nacogdoches has relied on air attacks this season and has averaged 325.2 passing yards per game. Whitehouse, on the other hand, has relied on a stout run game: they average 177.7 rushing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Friday? There's only one way to find out.
Nacogdoches was taken down by Whitehouse 50-23 in their previous meeting back in October of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of the Wildcats' Jojo Adams, who rushed for 183 yards and five scores on only eight carries, and also threw for 233 yards and one TD while completing 72.2% of his passes. Now that the Dragons know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
