North Lamar has enjoyed the comforts of home their last three games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will challenge The Gilmer Buckeyes at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. North Lamar 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 499th, while Gilmer is ranked 189th).
North Lamar pushed their score all the way to 34 on Friday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They took a 42-34 hit to the loss column at the hands of Spring Hill.
Despite the defeat, North Lamar got a solid performance out of Blake Hildreth, who rushed for 122 yards and a touchdown while picking up 7.6 yards per carry, and also threw for 70 yards and a touchdown on only six passes. Hildreth was no stranger to the big play, turning on the jets for a run that went for 63 yards.
Meanwhile, Gilmer was fully in charge on Friday, breezing past Liberty-Eylau 56-12 on the road.
Dhrvay Smith and Jaden Edmond were among the main playmakers for Gilmer as the former rushed for 109 yards and two touchdowns and the latter threw for 202 yards and three touchdowns on only 12 passes. Harrison Lofton got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.
Gilmer's win bumped their season record to 4-3 while North Lamar's loss dropped theirs to 5-2.
Friday's game might be decided on the ground as these two are both standouts in the run game. North Lamar has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 286.3 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Gilmer struggles in that department as they've been averaging 285.1 per game. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
North Lamar took a serious blow against Gilmer when the teams last played back in October of 2022, falling 42-6. Can North Lamar avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
