After each having a week off, the Ballinger Bearcats and the Bangs Dragons will dust off their jerseys to challenge one another at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Ballinger is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 32.8 points per game this season.
Last Friday, Ballinger was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 25-21 to Stanton. The Bearcats have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Bryce Lopez, who picked up 170 receiving yards and a touchdown. Aiden Pena was in the mix too, providing Ballinger with two touchdowns.
Ballinger wouldn't let Stanton keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Ballinger can thank Hunter Kresta and Cade Strube for forcing both of them.
Meanwhile, Bangs was just a hair shy of victory last Friday and fell 37-36 to Colorado. While the Dragons had to settle for second, they closed the game well in the third quarter, where they outscored the Wolves 6-0.
Despite the loss, Bangs got top-tier performance from Brayden Gatlin, who rushed for 102 yards and three touchdowns. Those 102 rushing yards gave Gatlin a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Aden Jones, who rushed for 62 yards and a touchdown on only seven carries.
Ballinger's defeat dropped their record down to 3-2. As for Bangs, they now have a losing record at 2-3.
Everything came up roses for Ballinger against Bangs when the teams last played back in October of 2021, as the squad secured a 46-3 win. In that matchup, Ballinger amassed a halftime lead of 26-3, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
