Two dominant backs in Blake Zanger and Gage Jones are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Leigh Longhorns will square off against the Live Oak Acorns at 7:15 p.m. on Friday. Leigh is coming into the contest on a three-game losing streak.
On Thursday, Leigh was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 35-30 to Lincoln. While the Longhorns had to settle for second, they closed the game well in the third quarter, where they outscored the Lions 7-0.
Miles Huntington
| 09/19/25 vs Gilroy | 135 |
| 09/26/25 @ Silver Creek | 110 |
| 10/23/25 @ Lincoln | 105 |
| 08/29/25 @ Leland | 58 |
| 10/09/25 vs Christopher | 55 |
| + 3 more games |
Leigh's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Miles Huntington, who picked up 105 receiving yards and two touchdowns, and Charlie Lyon, who threw for 287 yards and a pair of TDs while completing 81.2% of his passes. Huntington is becoming a predictor of the Longhorns' success: when he posts at least 80 receiving yards the team is 2-1 (and 2-3 when he doesn't).
Meanwhile, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Live Oak beat Branham 52-46 on Thursday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Acorns.
The match pitted two dominant backs against one another in Jones and Michael Murphy. Jones had a great game and rushed for 328 yards and four scores while picking up 7.6 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Murphy was balling out in the loss, rushing for 230 yards and a pair of TDs while picking up 8.8 yards per carry, and also picking up 67 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Live Oak's defensive line made their presence known, laying out Andrew Ho seven times. Dylan Fisher was especially locked on to Branham's QB and sacked him 3.5 times. Fisher also set a new season-high mark in total tackles with ten. Messiah Luna was another major factor on D, picking up 1.5 sacks and making ten total tackles (2.0 for loss).
Special teams played a big role in the game for Live Oak, adding 13 points to the final score. The biggest highlight from special teams (and perhaps the team as a whole) came courtesy of Jones, who ran a kickoff back for a touchdown.
Live Oak's victory bumped their record up to 7-1. As for Leigh, their loss dropped their record down to 4-4.
Friday's game might be decided on the ground. Leigh has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 180.1 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Live Oak struggles in that department as they've been averaging 333 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's matchup turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Leigh lost to Live Oak on the road by a decisive 14-0 margin when the teams last played back in October of 2024. Can the Longhorns avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
