The Woodlands Looks to Rally In Homecoming Game Against Caney Creek

THE WOODLANDS, TX – Last week was tough for The Woodlands Highlanders, as their 42-30 loss to Willis was a hard hit and a significant setback to their hopes for the district title. Caney Creek is coming off a bye week after being defeated by the same Willis team the week before. This means both teams will be looking for a rebound after a Willis loss, interestingly enough, as they will face each other this Thursday at Woodforest Bank Stadium. For The Woodlands, this is their homecoming game, and they want to secure a win for their fans in attendance for the festivities. Their offense will try to get back on track and secure another district victory. Caney Creek will enter this game aiming for their first district win, which could be a challenge against the energized Highlander team.

The Woodlands Highlanders: Focus on What's Ahead

Last week's loss was definitely not what the Highlanders wanted, as Willis’s offensive attack thoroughly tore them apart. All things considered, though, The Woodlands did not play a bad game by any stretch and made Willis work to get the win over them, as the defense was good when Jermaine Bishop Jr. wasn’t gashing them. The defense held Willis to only 103 yards passing, which might seem like a lot, but Willis was coming off games where they had over 200 yards through the air in each of their last three games. The rushing attack is what killed them, mainly from Bishop, who had over 250 rushing yards and 4 TDs on the night. Caney Creek obviously doesn’t have a player quite like Bishop, so The Woodlands should be able to play their game on defense more efficiently and get some good stops. The offense wasn’t too bad either, putting up 30 points and passing for 254 yards. QB Jack Daulton had a freak fumble that was returned for a touchdown, but overall was throwing very well, with 3 TDs through the air, all to different receivers. The Highlanders still like to spread the ball around the offense, as 4 different players had touchdowns. Eli Lancaster, Jamieson Gavin, and Colton Weddel all had great catches that resulted in scores and looked effective when Daulton could get the ball to them. However, there are two concerns with this team: one is the injury to RB Cody Jordan, who was injured early in the game. Jordan had recorded a score before he was hurt and has been one of their key pieces in the rush game this year, so this injury could really hurt the rushing attack. Jason Haskins did come in to replace the injured Jordan and looked good, breaking off an impressive 21-yard run later in the game to put The Woodlands in scoring position, but he is unproven so far, and we’ll have to see how he performs in the lead role. The other concern for The Woodlands is the offensive line, which allowed 6 sacks, though it could’ve been more if Daulton hadn’t thrown the ball away. The line was thoroughly outsized by Willis’s D-Line, who isn’t unbeatable, as they were dominated by Klein Collin’s O-Line earlier in the season. If The Woodlands wants to run an effective offense and throw more when they’re behind, they will need the line to step up and block better so Daulton has more time and plays can develop. Overall, this team should still be one of the better teams in the district and should be solid enough to secure a good win against a struggling Caney Creek team.

Caney Creek Panthers: Need to Actually Score

So far this season, Caney Creek has scored only 7 points, getting shut out in their last two games. They have allowed 49, 49,48,and 49 points on defense so far, meaning their defense isn’t far behind their offense in terms of efficiency. The Panthers aren’t world beaters, and we don’t expect them to be, but they will need to find something on offense to even keep this a game. They’ve had two weeks to think about their last loss and prepare for The Woodlands, which could help them score some points if they can be somewhat prepared. QB Kaleb Marshall was forced to scramble a lot last game and was seemingly the only player doing much of anything this season, as he has the Panthers' only score, which came off a 40+ yard bomb against Waller. Caney Creek did have some big plays last game, but most of them were called back due to penalties, which they will need to clean up if they want a chance in this. It's going to be a tough outing for Caney Creek, as the Highlanders aren’t going to hold back, and a road win might be out of reach, but hopefully they can make it competitive and score some points.

Final Thoughts:

This isn’t shaping up to be much of a game, as Caney Creek is asleep at the wheel in most of their games, and The Woodlands are hungry for a win after that tough loss. The Woodlands looks like the clear favorite, since it's their homecoming night, which means they not only have the home-field advantage but also a reason to play hard beyond just avenging their loss to Willis. For Caney Creek, they can only hope The Woodlands shows a little mercy and that they can score some much-needed points.