Week seven of the high school football season and there were a lot of great games that involved local teams. The St. Mary’s Rams and Granger Lions found themselves picking up wins on Friday while the Tayor Ducks, Hutto Hippos and Thrall Tigers were not so lucky. The Rams went on the road and defeated the Buckholts Badgers 68-20. The Rams received a major contribution from senior Andrew Flores scoring his first touchdown of the season.
Coupled with another big night running the ball that included six touchdowns, two from sophomore Ethan Lively and four from senior Ryan Altman, the Rams were able to have a 48-point lead and a win in week seven.
The Lions were also on the road this week and came away with a shutout win, 38-0, against the Iola Bulldogs. The Lions defense played a great game racking up a total of seven tackles for loss.
Junior Chase Edwards led the charge for the Lions defense with eight total tackles and three tackles for loss. Sophomore Jose Valverde put a nice cherry on top of the Lions defensive masterpiece with an interception.
Offensively, Lions senior D.J. McClelland had an efficient game carrying the ball six times for 163 yards and three touchdowns. The Taylor Ducks lost 32-29 in a shootout to the Davenport Wolves while on the road. The two teams showcased their stellar running backs combining for 599 total rushing yards between the two teams.
The Ducks allowed a late touchdown to put them down 32-29 but had a little over a minute to put a drive together and win the game. Unfortunately, it did not work out that way and the Ducks fell to 3-3.
Another halftime slump from the Hutto Hippos was the biggest factor in their 42-24 loss on Friday to the Harker Heights Knights.
With a 17-14 lead at halftime the Hippos were looking very sharp at the halfway point of the game. The Hippos defense struggled in the second half to stop the Knights offense and gave up 28 points in the second half, 21 of which came in the 4th quarter alone.
The Hippos offense also struggled to score in the second half, finding the endzone only once. Despite the loss junior quarterback Will Hammond completed 24 of 43 passes for 299 yards and three touchdowns. Defensively the Hippos were again led by senior Jordan Parkinson who racked up 17 total tackles.
Struggles for the Thrall Tigers continued Friday night losing 39-0 to the Holland Hornets. Junior Tyler Bonkowski led the Tigers defenders with six total tackles and a tackle for loss.
