This week features the cross-county rivalry game between the Tidehaven Tigers and Van Vleck Leopards.
Tidehaven (4-2, 2-0) had an off-week, while Van Vleck (3-4, 1-2) lost to Industrial last Friday 35-21.
Tidehaven is No. 2 in District 14-3A-2, behind first-place East Bernard (7- 0, 3-0).
Van Vleck is fifth in district.
The Leopards are paced with the district’s top rusher, Corey Austin, who has 1,184 yards on the season and leads the district with 102 points and 17 touchdowns.
Against Industrial, Austin had 205 yards of rushing on 25 carries and two touchdowns.
“We had a great week of practice,” said Tidehaven Head Coach David Lucio.
“If we can match last week’s practices, I think we will have a shot,” the coach added.
Talking about Tidehaven’s bye-week, Lucio said, “We didn’t have anybody out from injury, but we did get a few bumps and bruises taken care of.
“The Leopards are a great team,” Lucio remarked about the Tigers’ game this week against Van Vleck.
“They’ve had a tough schedule, so the win-loss record doesn’t mean much to us,” he said.
“They have the most electrifying player in 3A with Corey Austin.
“He has some good help surrounding him too.
“We will need to find a way to slow Austin down and score on their vaunted defense for us to have a chance,” Lucio said.
Van Vleck has the district’s leading tackler in Eurelio Lopez, who has 70 total stops this season.
No. 2 in tackles is the Leopard’s Xavier Thomas with 42 total stops, followed by Van Vleck’s Collin Ashworth, who has 37 tackles.
