The Grapevine Mustangs will take on the Emerson Mavericks at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Grapevine had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 29 points), and they went ahead and made it five on Thursday. They blew past Trimble Tech, posting a 71-8 victory at home. Given Grapevine's advantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 300th, while Trimble Tech is ranked 978th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Grapevine to victory, but perhaps none more so than Juliun Contreras, who rushed for 85 yards and two touchdowns on only six carries. Contreras was no stranger to the big play, turning on the jets for a run that went for 58 yards. Demontrez Dunn also deserves a shout-out for his two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Emerson was fully in charge on Thursday, breezing past Independence 72-7 on the road.
Emerson's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Kameron Lockhart, who rushed for 58 yards and three touchdowns, and also picked up 70 receiving yards. Lockhart hasn't dropped below two rushing touchdowns for four straight games. William Wells was another major influence, as he rushed for 67 yards and ran in a TD.
Grapevine pushed their record up to 6-4 with that victory, which was their third straight at home. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 46.7 points per game. As for Emerson, their victory bumped their record up to 8-2.
Thursday's game might be decided on the ground as these two are both standouts in the run game. Grapevine has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 195.2 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Emerson struggles in that department as they've been even better at 265.8 per game. It's looking like Thursday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other football content.
