A feisty cat fight will be fought when Panthers faces off against the Henderson Lions at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Mabank has struggled recently with three defeats in a row, while Henderson will arrive with four straight wins.
Mabank is headed into the game out to prove that what happened against Pine Tree on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Mabank was dealt a 38-6 loss at the hands of Pine Tree. While losing is never fun, the Panthers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 814th, while the Pirates are ranked 72nd).
Meanwhile, Henderson hadn't done well against Kilgore recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Friday. Henderson narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past Kilgore 27-24. The 27-point effort marked the Lions' lowest-scoring match of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.
Jesstin Starling was his usual excellent self, rushing for 128 yards and two touchdowns. He is on a roll when it comes to rushing touchdowns, as he's now punched in two or more in the last seven games he's played dating back to last season.
Mabank's defeat dropped their record down to 1-4. As for Henderson, their win bumped their record up to 5-1.
Mabank was able to grind out a solid victory over Henderson in their previous matchup back in October of 2021, winning 28-21. The rematch might be a little tougher for Mabank since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
