The Shelbyville Dragons will venture away from home to take on the Beckville Bearcats at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Shelbyville is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They took their match with ease, bagging a 62-7 victory over Leon. Given the Dragons' advantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 404th, while the Cougars are ranked 916th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Dj Barnes and Ronnie Williams were among the main playmakers for Shelbyville as the former rushed for 74 yards and two touchdowns on only six carries and the latter rushed for 162 yards and two touchdowns on only 15 carries. Those 162 rushing yards gave Williams a new career-high. Shelbyville also got help from Hunter Harvey, who showed off his sure hands for 132 receiving yards.
Shelbyville wouldn't let Leon keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Shelbyville can thank William Walden and Gus Duvon for forcing both of them. Walden is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made six or more in the last nine games he's played.
Meanwhile, Beckville came tearing into Friday's matchup with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 39 points) and they left with even more momentum. They claimed a resounding 56-28 win over the Rebels.
It was another big night for Jorden Prince, who rushed for 227 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 10.3 yards per carry. The team also got some help courtesy of Aiden Harris, who picked up 67 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Beckville was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 296 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 152 rushing yards in 11 consecutive contests.
Beckville's record is now 10-1. As for Shelbyville, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven games, which provided a nice bump to their 9-2 record this season.
The upcoming match will be a clash of competing strengths. Shelbyville has relied on air attacks this season and has averaged 282.8 passing yards per game. Beckville, on the other hand, has relied on a stout run game: they average 265.4 rushing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Friday? There's only one way to find out.
Shelbyville came up short against Beckville in their previous meeting back in November of 2020, falling 47-34. Thankfully for Shelbyville, Ryan Harris (who rushed for 291 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 12.1 yards per carry, and also threw for 63 yards and a touchdown on only six passes) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
