Hays Rebels (3-5, 3-3) vs. Bowie Bulldogs (6-1, 5-0)
When: Thursday, Oct. 23 at 7:30 p.m.
Where: Bob Shelton Stadium
Last week: Westlake 49, Hays 7; Bowie 41, Akins 7
Last meeting (2009): Bowie 27, Hays 3
Players to watch:
Hays: QB Braeden Kent, RB Cody Gandy, RB Tyrese Atwood, WR Brandon Hunter, WR Austin Maulding, FB Jacob Chavez, OL Connor Lanfear, OL Mateo Mendoza, LB Preston Ellison, LB Emory Cuzze, LB Kendall Stovall, DB Da’Quanta Crayton, DB Ty Wilder
Bowie: QB Preston Wheeler, RB Quirin Laracuente, RB Steve Johnson, RB Andre Washington, WR Josh Wainwright, WR Ben Setterquist, LB Chris Alanis, DT Kyle Ohlen, LB Cruz Lopez
Intangibles: In what has been a rough-and-tumble, up-and-down season, the Hays Rebels still have a shot to earn themselves a playoff berth. But with only two games left, Thursday’s game against Bowie becomes the proverbial “must-win.” Bowie features a defense that limited Westlake to only 13 points and 288 total yards two weeks ago. They allow an average of 256 yards per game, giving up only 104 yards on the ground. In addition, their defense has forced 10 turnovers this year, with eight total interceptions. Hays offense will counter with a run game that ran into a brick wall against Westlake. QB Kent, RB Atwood and FB Chavez may be asked to pick up the slack for leading rusher Gandy, who was injured at Westlake. Hays could rely on Kent, who’s amassed 1,336 yards and 10 TDs thus far. On the defensive side, Hays has run into back-to-back high-powered offenses, giving up 840 yards and 84 points in two games. They’ll be tasked with stopping another prolific offense in Bowie, which has amassed over 2,000 total yards over seven games. QB Wheeler has thrown for 1,293 yards and 13 TDs, while RB Laracuente, Johnson and Washington each have more than 200 yards rushing.
Lehman Lobos (1-6, 1-4) vs. Anderson Trojans (2-6, 1-5)
When: Friday, Oct. 24 at 7:30 p.m.
Where: Bob Shelton Stadium
Last week: Lehman (idle), Del Valle 44, Anderson 24
Last meeting (2013): Anderson 20, Lehman 8
Players to watch:
Lehman: QB Jeremy Schilhab, RB JR Torres, RB/DB Brett Wagner, TE Jay Sayles, WR Jon Herrera, WR Tyler Henderson, OL Julian Silguero, OL Micah Tambur, OL Francisco Maldonado, DL Chris Serrano, DL Cody Richter, LB Clifford Garner, DB Austin Lakey, DB Jacob Tamez, DB Za’Quan Campbell
Anderson: QB Kirby Hill, QB Thomas Ramsdale, RB Jacorey Nelson, RB Chris Ortiz, WR Dalton Harris, WR Ryan Kuenast, WR Joseph Menke, LB Braden Buckman, OL/DL Dalton Shoemaker, LB Jordan Harrison
Intangibles: With the bye week behind them, the Lehman Lobos now vie to finish the season with some momentum. And, with a lot of help, the Lobos could also find themselves in the playoff chase. Lehman QB Schilhab, who is rested from an injury suffered against Hays, continues to lead the Lobo offense. With 259 more rushing yards, Schilhab could become the school’s first player to rush and throw for 1,000 yards in a season. Lehman will need to find options to relieve pressure off of Schilhab. RB Wagner, RB Torres and TE Sayles could become viable options. They’ll go up against an Anderson defense that’s given up 94 points and more than 1,000 yards in the past two weeks. But Lehman’s defense has equally struggled this season. The Lobos have conceded 40 or more points in all but two of their seven games this season. They’ll attempt to stop Anderson’s high powered pass-offense, led by QB Hill’s 968 yards and eight scores. WR Harris leads the team with 306 receiving yards, while Kuenast has 274.
