Iola Bulldogs (3-2) at Tomball Rosehill Christian Eagles (4-1)

Previous Meetings: This is the first matchup between the

two teams.

Last Week: Burton 49, Iola 7; Rosehill Christian 28, Tom-ball Christian 0;

2019: Iola: @ Somerville (W) 20-12, VS Normangee (W) 32-29, @ Anderson-Shiro (L) 26-0, VS Milano (W) 14-3; Rosehill Christian: @ Savio (L) 33-20, VS Frassati Catholic (W) 57-14, @ First Baptist

Christian (W) 63-7, VS West

Hardin (W) 36-0;

The Matchup

Rosehill Christian has offensive weapons in the passing game, but their strength lies in their rushing attack. Trevor Manning is a 6-foot, 205-lb dual threat quarterback. He features a big arm connecting on 26-of-43 passing for 478 yards with 7 touchdowns and 1 interception. He packs a huge punch on the ground having carried the ball 75 times for 810 yards (10.8 YPC) and 8 touchdowns.

Iola is coming off a tough loss to a good team in which they allowed the most points all season. The Bulldog defense has been tough and physical throughout the season but offensively they have struggled at times. The offense runs through starting quarterback Blake Driver. He has a big arm and capitalizes with big plays to his receivers. He can also scramble and extend plays with his legs.

Keys to victory

Iola must win the battle at the line of scrimmage especially on offense. The Bulldogs must be able to run the ball effectively to set up big plays in the passing game. It is also vital for them to extend drives and keep their defense off the field.

Rosehill also needs to be able to knock the Bulldog defense off the line of scrimmage to allow their playmaker at quarterback to control the game. If the Bulldogs can stuff them at the line of scrimmage and force them to pass, then the advantage will shift toward Iola.