Rangers fans better hope last week was an aberration.

A 28-0 failure at the hands of a dominant Judson Rocket squad left this Ranger team sputtering, trapped back in that wheel of mediocrity that has circled this season.

Obviously, it wasn’t as simple as a bad loss; Judson is the 62nd-ranked team in the country, according to MaxPreps. They are an elite team, no matter which way you slice it. But this is more than a game. This is the continuation of a troubling trend for a team that generally has success against even the best competition.

Smithson Valley (2-4, 2-2) struggled to even get where they are. The two teams they’ve beaten (Schertz Clemens and Canyon) are a combined 7-7; and despite their rigorous schedule, they have to rise above if they want to remain in playoff contention.

Freshman Kasen Wells believes they can.

“We’re confident,” the wideout said. “We’re all motivated to win.”

Still, this week promises little rest for the weary Rangers, as they must face Cibolo Steele (5-2, 3-1). It’s difficult to get a good handle on Steele, as their only losses (vs O’Connor, at Judson) came against undefeated teams, and they’ve only played one other quality opponent, a 5-2 Reagan  team the Knights defeated 35-30.

This creates a mysterious atmosphere around a team that has essentially only played one game. Here’s what we can definitively say about Steele:

1. They aren’t bad (They’ve beaten their bad opponents)
2. They aren’t great, either (They’ve lost twice)

This aura of mystery is difficult to navigate, and we can’t truly know how good this Knights team is until they play more good opponents.

The closest thing they’ve had to an actual game is against Reagan, and that was back on Sept. 7. Regardless, that game was probably the truest indicator of what Cibolo Steele really is: good. No better, no worse.

They were evenly matched against Reagan, though they were a bit better on the offensive side of the ball, with running backs De’Quavian Thomas and Tylee Tyson combining for 191 yards and a score, and the overall rushing attack putting up 264 yards and three touchdowns.

But with a game manager at quarterback in Wyatt Begeal, they might not be able to stand up to a tougher defense (Reagan is allowing over 26 points per game).

I’m not going to lie to you and say I know what’s going to happen tonight. I don’t. But that’s what makes this team so fun. And I’ll tell you one thing – everyone is going to leave that stadium with just a little bit more excitement in their lives.