On Friday McKenzie will have to hit the road after five straight games at home. They will venture away from home to take on the Houston County Fighting Irish at 7:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
McKenzie's defense heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Perry County 56-0 at home. Given the Rebels' advantage in MaxPreps' Tennessee football rankings (they are ranked 58th, while the Vikings are ranked 314th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Meanwhile, Houston County had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 22.3 points) and they went ahead and made it five on Friday. They breezed by the Tigers on the road to the tune of 47-7. The contest marked the Fighting Irish's most dominant victory of the season.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Houston County to victory, but perhaps none more so than Malaki Cary, who rushed for 103 yards and two touchdowns on only seven carries, and also picked up 88 receiving yards and a touchdown. The bulk of those receiving yards came from one huge play: a catch that gained an incredible 60 yards. Preston Mitchell was another key rusher, rushing for 162 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 9.5 yards per carry.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Houston County was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 287 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 164 rushing yards in seven consecutive matches.
Houston County wouldn't let Hollow Rock-Bruceton Central keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Houston County can thank Jemareon Hillsman and Hayden Burgess for forcing both of them.
McKenzie's win was their tenth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 7-0. As for Houston County, their record is now 6-1.
Everything came up roses for McKenzie against Houston County when the teams last played back in October of 2023, as the squad secured a 56-7 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for McKenzie since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
