As we enter a new week of Texas High School football, teams are doing what they can to preserve their hopes of a playoff run. or continue down a successful path toward the playoffs. This week, the Thursday highlighted game on CW33 features two Garland ISD teams-- the Garland Owls and the Garland Namaan Forest Rangers. VYPE DFW takes a dive into these two teams' seasons and lays out just what fans can expect from this Thursday night game!
Garland Owls (4-2)
Last season, the Garland Owls went undefeated in district play to clench a playoff spot. Despite falling short in playoffs, the Owls were energized into the off season and ready to get back to work as soon as the new season started this fall. The Owls have posted incredible victories this season so far against the likes of Birdville (23-13, non-district), North Garland (38-32, district), Lakeview Centennial (35-21, district), and Rowlett (19-0, district). However, last week the team lost a tough district match match against Wylie East (34-7).
Keyuntae King, Keylon Davis, Javien Hudson, Ayron Powell, and Jayden Norwood help lead the Garland Owl offense each week. While King posts about 140 rushing yards per game, Davis, Hudson, and Powell combine for an average of 93 receiving yards per game. King has tallied eight touchdowns this season while Norwood has tallied four and thrown for three. Zalen Reynolds, Ta'Marques J McNeal, Tim Muhammad, and Gabriel Williams consistently play hard on the defense and have proven to be a force to be reckoned with this season.
Garland Namaan Forest Rangers (2-3)
Last season, Namaan Forest posted convincing wins against plenty of opponents through district play and even secured a playoff spot before falling in the first round to a dominating Rockwall-Heath squad. The team used the fire from last season throughout offseason preparations and came into the new season looking forward to a fight. Although the team has struggled to find their footing this season, they have posted a couple of great wins: one non-district victory over Rowlett (33-22) and one convincing district victory over Sachse (39-13) last week. With the momentum of last week building, the Rangers are looking to play hard on Thursday night against Garland.
Senior Isaiah Cunning helps lead the charge on the offense for the Rangers. Cunning has tallied about 126 rushing yards per game and five touchdowns this season. Junior running back, Jason Flores, posts nearly 70 receiving yards a game and has scored six touchdowns this season so far. Sophomore quarterback, Debo Perales, has played strong in the pocket throwing 10 touchdown passes this season. The defense, led by Marcus Davis, Markis Deal, Caden Key, Ivan Garcia, D'Sean Byrd, and more is a tough one that Garland will want to keep their eye on.
What To Expect
Namaan Forest is looking to secure another district victory for themselves and attempt to take advantage of Garland who might still be thinking about last week's loss. The Rangers are going to pull out all the stops in order to do whatever it takes to put another win in their record. However, fans can expect this Garland team to set the tone on the field early and put in the work to shut down Namaan Forest's advances. This game has the potential to be a big one for the Owls- you're not going to want to miss it! If you can't make it out to Garland for the game, be sure to catch all the action on CW33- kick-off is set for 7 p.m.