SAN ANGELO, TX— The Water Valley Wildcats are one win away from their first state final appearance, and the only thing standing in their way is an opponent they’ve already beaten this season.
No. 2-ranked Water Valley won its playoff matchup with district rival Robert Lee last week, 50-28. Now, the Wildcats turn their attention to the Rankin Red Devils in the Class 1A Division I state semifinals at 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6, at San Angelo Stadium.
It's a rematch of their regular-season meeting back on Oct. 3 when Water Valley beat Rankin 68-20.
The Wildcats (13-0) are undefeated on the season and are led by a senior-heavy group of young men. For Landon Lacy, Boston Wiese, Hayden Kolster, Rett Dickison, Cade Manley, Brylan Naylor, Marcus Rodriguez and Josiah Martinez, this could be the end of their high school careers, and the entire team wants to make sure they get one more game.
While the No. 1-ranked Gordon Longhorns may be at the front of their minds, the Wildcats cannot overlook Rankin. In the first matchup, Water Valley 45’d the Red Devils, but Rankin has not dropped a game since and upset No. 5 Whiteface last week, 82-38. Whiteface sent Water Valley home last season in the state semifinals before losing to Gordon.
After losing to Water Valley in Week 6, Rankin survived the next game against Garden City, 24-16. Every game after that, the Red Devils have averaged a little over 60 points per game, so they've found their groove.
Defensively, the Red Devils have allowed an average of 21.5 points per game during their winning streak, so they have improved quite a bit since that first meeting.
Also, Rankin has already rematched with a regular-season opponent in Borden County. They dropped the first game, 74-44, then won the playoff game, 50-39.
The Red Devils will be looking for the same outcome this week.
The winner of this game will advance to the state final Dec. 17 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington against either No. 1 Gordon or Union Hill.
Subscribe to the LIVE! Daily
Required
Post a comment to this article here: