Canyon is on a six-game streak of home wins (dating back to last season), while Estacado is on a five-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Canyon Eagles will take on the Estacado Matadors at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: both teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Canyon had no problem doing just that on Thursday. They enjoyed a cozy 51-33 victory over Wichita Falls. Given Canyon's advantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 301st, while Wichita Falls is ranked 617th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Canyon can attribute much of their success to Ryan Rivera, who rushed for 165 yards and a touchdown while picking up 10.3 yards per carry, and Christian Mcguire, who rushed for 155 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 7.0 yards per carry. Mcguire has been hot recently, having posted 100 or more rushing yards the last three times he's played. Colt Cruth and his 89 yards on the ground were also a key factor in Canyon's victory.
Meanwhile, Estacado can now show off eight landslide victories after their most recent match on Friday. They blew past Bowie 45-3 at home.
Estacado relied on the efforts of James Bozeman, who rushed for 64 yards and two touchdowns on only seven carries, and Cedric Ross, who rushed for 103 yards and a touchdown. Ross really tore up the turf during one magnificent 83-yard run.
Canyon has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight matches, which provided a nice bump to their 9-2 record this season. As for Estacado, their victory bumped their record up to an identical 9-2.
Canyon came out on top in a nail-biter against Estacado in their previous matchup back in September of 2021, sneaking past 16-13. Will Canyon repeat their success, or does Estacado have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
