The Azle Hornets will challenge the Richland Royals at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Azle is looking to tack on another W to their six-game streak on the road dating back to last season.
Azle is headed into the contest out to prove that what happened against Aledo on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Azle took a blow against Aledo, falling 77-14. The Hornets haven't had much luck with the Bearcats recently, as the team's come up short the last four times they've met.
Despite the defeat, Azle got top-tier performance from Hagen Hughes, who rushed for 130 yards and a touchdown while picking up 7.6 yards per carry. Hughes really tore up the turf during one magnificent 75-yard run. Aiden Mackey also played a phenomenal game despite the final result: he picked up 109 receiving yards.
Meanwhile, Richland fought the good fight in their overtime match against Aledo last Friday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell 49-42 to the Bearcats.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Deon Jones, who picked up 164 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Drew Kates was another key player, throwing for 233 yards and two touchdowns.
Richland wouldn't let Aledo keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Richland can thank Sean Wright and Carlos Davis for forcing both of them. Wright has been hot recently, having also posted nine or more total tackles the last three times he's played. Another thorn in Aledo's side was Roddrick Roberts, who made 18 total tackles.
Azle's loss dropped their record down to 7-2. As for Richland, their defeat dropped their record down to an identical 7-2.
The upcoming game will be a clash of competing strengths. Azle has deployed a run-first offense that has averaged 235.1 rushing yards a game. Meanwhile, Richland has preferred to attack from the air: they average 290.4 passing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Friday? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
