The Birdville Hawks will look to defend their home field on Friday against the Richland Royals at 7:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Last Thursday, Birdville got themselves on the board against Sunset, but Sunset never followed suit. They breezed by the Bison on the road to the tune of 41-0. That's two games straight that Birdville has won by exactly 41 points.
Among those leading the charge was Noah Normand, who threw for 163 yards and three touchdowns. The team also got some help courtesy of Jaylen Davis, who rushed for 69 yards and a touchdown.
Meanwhile, Richland put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their undefeated season alive. They claimed a resounding 54-14 victory over Newman Smith at home. The game was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 40-7.
Richland's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Drew Kates led the charge by rushing for 92 yards and a touchdown on only ten carries, while also throwing for 196 yards and three touchdowns. Kates is on a roll when it comes to passing touchdowns, as he's now passed for three or more in the last five games he's played. Michael Turner was another key contributor, rushing for 173 yards and a touchdown while picking up 10.8 yards per carry.
Their wins bumped Birdville to 3-4 and Richland to 7-0.
Friday's matchup might be decided on the ground as these two are both standouts in the run game. Birdville has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 159.3 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Richland struggles in that department as they've been even better at 220.9 per game. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Birdville didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Richland when the teams last played back in October of 2022, but they still walked away with a 34-30 win. Will Birdville repeat their success, or does Richland have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
