On Friday, Oct. 9, the Mesquite Horn Jaguars will face the Arlington Bowie Volunteers in a non-conference matchup at C.H. Wilemon Stadium.

The Volunteers will be looking to get their second win of the season after a 29-21 victory over Mansfield in their first game of the year.

If there is anything one should understand about what Bowie’s mindset was in their first game, it is:

When in doubt, run the football.

This team is extremely reliant on the run. Out of their 227 yards of offense last Friday, 197 of them were rushing.

Breaking down the offense with more detail basically just requires two names, QB Drevonn Ponder and RB Kameron Sanders.

This quarterback-running back combo is the entire Volunteer offense. Both players are fast, agile athletes that are able to dodge or slip through tackles from swift footwork.

The way they play honestly makes you think you’re watching them in fast forward mode against their opponent.

While I do give the Volunteers credit for their full throttle run game approach because they won the game, I see Bowie’s play calling becoming flagrantly predictable.

Bowie’s offense always chooses one of the three options; hands off the ball to Sanders for a run, QB draw or play action to QB run for Ponder, or Ponder throws the occasional short pass.

Any defense that plans on watching their tape before the game will realize if they stop the run, they stop the Volunteers.

Luckily for Bowie, the Jaguars’ inability to contain the run was the primary reason for their loss last Friday to Permian, 51-10.

However, Mesquite Horn will be coming into this matchup with one more game under their belt than Bowie and more motivation to redeem themselves.

When you look at this Jaguar team, they have an abundant collection of talented juniors and sophomores on both sides of the ball. 

The offense is really a jack of all trades in terms of getting production in the air or on the ground. Their QB Trey McGill has shown he’s not afraid to air it out to receivers, even if it doesn’t get completed nearly half of the time.

The Jaguars’ backfield looks like it contains actual jaguars disguised as their two speedy running backs, Camden Tyler and Eddryk Ruff. The tandem has already racked up over 330 rushing yards after just two games into the season.

While Horn’s defense did allow an experienced Permian squad to score 51 points, the Jaguars did show a capability to scrounge up turnovers in their first game against Pearce.

They are led by LB Tarance Johnson and FS Darrius White, who have racked up the most tackles for the team so far this season. 

Horn’s ability to contain the run on Friday night will be the key factor in who wins because I haven’t seen the Volunteers try anything else successfully.

With that being said, here are my impact players of the game:

HORN

• Jaguar Pass Rush
  • Their pass rushers were able to put a substantial amount of pressure on the QB in their first game, but they’ll need an even better performance against this run-heavy team.
• RB Camden Tyler
  • Exploding speed when in space. Look out for this guy to be a huge contributor in the game Friday night.

BOWIE

• QB-RB combo of Drevonn Ponder & Kameron Sanders
  • Intriguing combination of experienced, speedy seniors that have been Bowie’s calling card so far this season. They literally almost call the same play every time, but if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

ARMANDO’S PREDICTION

Bowie wins by at least a touchdown, 27-20

For live score updates and game analysis of Horn @ Bowie, follow me on Twitter @ArmandoBarry6