The football team begins its quest for a state title as they take on the Jay Mustangs this Friday at home in a do or die playoff matchup.

The Rangers are coming off last week’s 23-7 win against the district rival New Braunfels Unicorns, a win that helped crown them as district champions.

The winning performance served as a strong momentum builder for the team before they enter postseason play. The defense put on a show once again, as they held the Unicorn offense to 7 total points and 46 yards passing.

This defensive play will need to be at its best once again, as the Mustangs averaged 35.2 points per game during the regular season. Jay’s offense is one that is reliant on the run game, as the team has posted 100 yards rushing or more in every game this season.

These kind of impressive numbers have been due in large part to the performance of junior running back Jaylin Hastings, who is coming off of a 4 touchdown, 303 yard performance in the Mustangs 58-57 overtime win over Brandeis last week.

This stout Ranger defense, which is allowing only 13.4 points per game on the season, looks to shut down Hastings, who is averaging 184.3 rushing yards per game, with 16 total touchdowns on the season.

The first round playoff battle takes place tonight at Ranger Stadium, with kickoff at 7:30 p.m.