The Joaquin Rams will square off against the Refugio Bobcats at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Joaquin sitting on four straight victories and Refugio on 13.
Joaquin is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They walked away with a 35-24 win over San Augustine.
Joaquin can attribute much of their success to Trenton Runnels, who rushed for 62 yards and two scores, and Jacob Gatlin, who rushed for 74 yards and one TD on only ten carries.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Joaquin was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 353 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 159 rushing yards in 19 consecutive contests dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Refugio didn't have too much trouble with Mason on Thursday as they won 27-13. Given the Bobcats' advantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 57th, while the Punchers are ranked 201st) , the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Refugio's win came from a few key players Joaquin will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Zander Wills, who rushed for 175 yards and a pair of touchdowns while picking up 8.0 yards per carry. His rushing production has been exceptional as that marked his sixth straight game with at least 128 rushing yards. Raydon Lewis was another key player, rushing for 114 yards and one TD.
Refugio didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Laytyn Garza and Mikel Brown.
Joaquin's record now sits at 10-4. As for Refugio, their record is now 13-0.
Thursday's matchup might be decided on the ground. Joaquin has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 243.7 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Refugio struggles in that department as they've been averaging 358.6 rushing yards. There's a good chance Thursday's game turns into a tough fight on the ground. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other football content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
