Two dominant signal callers in Cardea Collier and Ryan Gafford are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Alvarado Indians will be playing at home against the Stephenville Yellow Jackets/Honeybees at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Alvarado will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Texas Rankings (they are ranked 256th, while Stephenville is ranked 79th).
Last Friday, Alvarado suffered a rough 49-28 loss at the hands of La Vega. Alvarado has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Alvarado might have lost, but man, Collier was a machine: he rushed for 170 yards and a touchdown while picking up 8.9 yards per carry, and also threw for 249 yards and a touchdown. Collier really tore up the turf during one magnificent 72-yard run. Cade Lee was in the mix too, providing Alvarado with two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Stephenville entered their tilt with China Spring with three consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with four. Stephenville came out on top against China Spring by a score of 31-21 last Thursday.
Tate Maruska was the offensive standout of the game as he rushed for 142 yards and two touchdowns. Another player making a difference was Gafford, who threw for 221 yards while picking up 11.1 yards per attempt.
Another reason for the win was Stephenville's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for 4.5 sacks. China Spring's QB won't forget Justin Stephens anytime soon given Stephens sacked him four times.
Alvarado's defeat dropped their record down to 5-3. As for Stephenville, their victory was their fourth straight at home, bumping their overall record up to 6-2.
Alvarado won a match that couldn't have been any closer when the teams last played back in October of 2022, slipping by Stephenville 50-49. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Stephenville's Ryder Lambert, who threw for 313 yards and four touchdowns, and also punched in a rushing score. Now that he won't be playing on Friday, will it be that much easier for Alvarado to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
