Houston is 3-0 against West Lauderdale since October of 2014, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Houston Hilltoppers will take on the West Lauderdale Knights at 7:00 p.m. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Houston sitting on four straight victories and West Lauderdale on eight.
Houston is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup last Thursday. They blew past South Pontotoc 41-0. Given the Hilltoppers' advantage in MaxPreps' Mississippi football rankings (they are ranked 35th, while the Cougars are ranked 190th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Houston's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Takoda Harrell, who threw for 240 yards and three touchdowns on only 13 passes. Christopher Parker was in the mix too, providing Houston with two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, West Lauderdale made easy work of Ripley on Friday and carried off a 49-28 victory. The result was nothing new for the Knights, who have now won seven contests by 21 points or more so far this season.
K.P PEOPLES and Travion Mosley were among the main playmakers for West Lauderdale as the former rushed for 80 yards and two touchdowns on only eight carries and the latter rushed for 180 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 10.0 yards per carry. PEOPLES has been hot recently, having posted two or more rushing touchdowns the last four times he's played.
West Lauderdale was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 274 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 223 rushing yards in four consecutive matches.
Houston's win was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 9-2. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 44.9 points per game. As for West Lauderdale, their record now sits at 9-3.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Houston has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 191.7 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like West Lauderdale struggles in that department as they've been averaging 289.6. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Everything went Houston's way against West Lauderdale in their previous meeting back in November of 2023, as Houston made off with a 42-21 victory. Does Houston have another victory up their sleeve, or will West Lauderdale turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
