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Friday Night Preview: Crandall and Kaufman football go head-to-head
There are some Friday Night Lights that hit different across the state. In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, there are rivalries abound between various school districts. Just east of Dallas small-town rivalries are taken to the next level during football games. This week, the Kaufman Lions host the Crandall Pirates in a match-up that fans aren't going to want to miss. VYPE DFW dives into the details:
Crandall Pirates (0-1)
With a strong season last year and the drive to do even better this year, the Crandall Pirates are already off to a rocky start. Opening their season in week one of non-district play on the road against Forney, the Pirates posted a less-than-ideal 64-10 loss. The team is looking to get back at it this week when they travel up the road to Kaufman for another non-district rivalry showdown. This team hosts athletes like Sa'Von Reedy, Jaylon Washington, Kendrick Jones, Jeremiah Douglas, Kareem McAdams, Hudson West, James Chisolm, Cameron George, Andrew Anderson, and more. Looking to secure the first victory of the season for the Pirates Football program, these athletes are bound and determined to secure a statement victory over Kaufman in week two of the 2023-24 Texas High School Football season.
Kaufman Lions (0-1)
Finishing second in their district last season, the Kaufman Lions are on a mission this year to secure that top spot. Despite a week one 56-46 loss on the road against a tough Lindale team, the Lions have already shown tremendous growth this season. With the drive to continue moving and finish strong on the field, the Lions have been able to bounce back after each tough play. With a close week one game, fans can expect Kaufman to be fired up and ready for anything against Crandall. Athletes like Kaleb Lewis, Kylevon Morrow, Robert Olivares, Mason Seabolt, Johnathan Wrenn, Quinn Hartley, Jeremy Elliott, Jeremiah Brown, and more have what it takes to put a strong effort up against Crandall this week.
What To Expect
Week two of last year's season featured another Crandall vs. Kaufman match-up with the Pirates posting a 45-10 defeat over the Lions in front of a home crowd. Having graduated a decent sized class of impactful athletes, the Pirates are going to have to make sure their defense is ready to go against this Kaufman team that has already proven themselves to be an offensive threat. Fans can expect both teams to come out swinging as they enter this rivalry battle. With pride on the line, both teams are aiming for that first victory of the season.
Be sure you catch the game at Kaufman High School. Kick-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.
Crandall Football: Are the Pirates on the rise?
After a less than desirable season last year, the Crandall Pirates have become one of the teams to watch in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. According to MaxPreps, last season, the Pirates posted a 3-6 overall finish (1-3 in district play) with wins over Jacksonville (38-25), Joshua (46-30), and Forney (57-54 in four overtimes) before finishing their schedule with a five-game losing streak. This season, though, the Pirates are doing everything they can in an attempt to pave a way to their own destiny.
So far this season, the Pirates have outscored their opponents 274-187. The Pirates opened the season with a big 51-36 win over Jacksonville before posting a disappointing 32-27 loss to Kaufman in week two. Since their loss, Crandall posted three convincing wins- one against Alvarado (68-42), one a district opener against Sulphur Springs (57-34), and the other a week five dominating 71-43 win over North Forney. The Pirates are averaging 42 points a game and have not had a slow game yet.
In the pocket this season for Crandall is senior Jamonte Gordon-West. Gordon-West is a dual-threat athlete who can really do it all on the gridiron. The senior has tallied a remarkable 1,342 passing yards and 15 passing touchdowns in five games. Gordon-West has completed 70% of his passes and has thrown only two interceptions. On the ground, Gordon-West has racked up 231 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns on 49 carries.
Catching the majority of Gordon-West's touchdown passes has been junior wide receiver Luke Moffitt. Moffitt has racked up 564 receiving yards and 11 receiving touchdowns on 25 catches. Not far being Moffitt is junior three-star wide receiver Samuel Omosigho. With nine college offers and surely more to come, Omosigho has tallied three receiving touchdowns with 487 yards on 26 receptions. Keeping the scoring going on the ground for Crandall is junior running back Chris Abron. Abron has recorded 13 rushing touchdowns this season with 674 rushing yards on 98 carries.
It's easy to see that the Pirates want a big change to their program this year, but there is still a lot of season left. The Pirates will travel to Forney on Thursday where they will take on a 3-2 Forney High School team. The Pirates are coming off of a BYE week and will likely be ready to take the game by storm.