The Madisonville Mustangs will head out to challenge the Center Roughriders at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The two teams might be coming in a bit winded given these two teams combined for 974 yards in their previous games.
Madisonville is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They took a blow against Columbus on Friday, falling 62-35. While losing is never fun, the Mustangs can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 207th, while the Cardinals are ranked 52nd).
Despite the defeat, Madisonville got top-tier performance from Phillip Green, who rushed for 195 yards and two touchdowns, and also caught a touchdown. Green is crushing it when it comes to rushing yards: he's rushed for at least 118 every time he's taken the field this season. Madisonville also got a significant boost from Jaden Simpson, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 87 yards.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Madisonville was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 288 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 182 rushing yards in four consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Center put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They blew past Daingerfield 48-23. The Roughriders might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won three games by 21 points or more this season.
Center's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Jaysis Villegas led the charge by rushing for 82 yards and two touchdowns. The team also got some help courtesy of Timothy Johnson, who picked up 93 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Madisonville's loss ended an eight-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 2-2. As for Center, their victory bumped their record up to 4-0.
Friday's match might be decided in the on the ground. Madisonville has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 228.8 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Center struggles in that department as they've been averaging 217. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Everything came up roses for Madisonville against Center in their previous meeting back in October of 2021, as the squad secured a 36-0 win. Does Madisonville have another victory up their sleeve, or will Center turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
