The #4 Stafford Spartans and #15 El Campo Ricebirds will both be confronting their toughest opponents of the season when they face off on Friday night. Both programs have had an extremely successful 2016 campaign, with the Spartans going 6-3 and the Ricebirds sitting at 8-0.
The Spartans would be playing for their second consecutive 10-0 season, but are being punished for playing an ineligible player against Calhoun and Belleville. Leading the offensively balanced Spartan attack is junior quarterback Walter White, who has thrown for 1,400 yards and 22 touchdowns over the course of the season. Out of White’s 84 completions, Texas A&M commit Hezekiah Jones has hauled in 24 of them and has gained 437 yards and 11 touchdowns, averaging just under 50 receiving yards per game.
Alongside the dynamic combination of White and Jones is running back James Brown who has dominated defenses throughout the season. Brown has rushed for 1041 yards, scored 14 total touchdowns, and has averaged 11.7 yards per carry. He has rushed for 100+ yards in four out of the Spartans’ nine games and is averaging 115 yards per contest over that stretch.
The Spartans will be going up against a Ricebird defense that has allowed just 15 points per game, however El Campo hasn’t seen an offense near the level the Spartans play at. The Ricebirds will most likely have to rely on an offense that’s been impressive this far in 2016. Led by quarterback Brock Brandl and dominating opponents in the running game, El Campo is averaging just under 38 points per game. The Ricebirds, who handed the Angleton Wildcats their only loss of the season, have produced an explosive rushing attack so far this year.
The agile Brandl has an incredible amount of talent beside him in the backfield in the form of Dadderick Holloway and Nery Enriquez. Between their three stars and other contributors, the explosive Ricebird rushing attack is giving defensive coordinators headaches, and are averaging just over 280 yards per contest this year. Needless to say, when these two explosive offenses meet, defense will determine the outcome of this game.
