The Van Alstyne Panthers will square off against the Wills Point Tigers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Wills Point took a loss in their last game and will be looking to turn the tables on Van Alstyne, who comes in off a win.
Van Alstyne had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 29 points), and they went ahead and made it three two weeks ago. Everything went their way against Gainesville as Van Alstyne made off with a 38-14 win. The result was nothing new for Van Alstyne, who have now won three contests by 24 points or more so far this season.
Brady Carson was on fire: he picked up 125 receiving yards and a touchdown, and also punched in three touchdowns on the ground. Carson's longest reception was for an incredible 87 yards. The team also got some help courtesy of Weston Johnston, who threw for 248 yards and a touchdown on only 17 passes.
Meanwhile, it's never fun to lose, and it's even less fun to lose 50-21, which was the final score in Wills Point's tilt against Caddo Mills on Friday. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Wills Point in their matchups with Caddo Mills: they've now lost five in a row.
Jett Fletcher put forth a good effort for the losing side as he rushed for 93 yards and a touchdown on only 12 carries, and also threw for 207 yards and a touchdown. Another player making a difference was Larandion Dowden, who rushed for 94 yards and a touchdown.
Van Alstyne's win was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 6-3. That said, the team wasn't facing the toughest opposition over that stretch, as it included 2-8 Sanger and 2-8 Lebanon Trail (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 40.9% over those games). As for Wills Point, their loss dropped their record down to 5-5.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's game: Van Alstyne has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 189.4 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Wills Point struggles in that department as they've been even better at 238.4 per game. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other football content.
