The Raiders won their first district game last Friday, defeating West Mesquite 34-8. Wylie East travels to Paris for a non-district game against the Wildcats tonight.

Here are three keys to a Raiders victory this week:

1. Run at a consistent pace. 

Wylie East has succeeded when it can establish the ground game. In their win over West Mesquite, the Raiders finished with 195 rushing yards on 39 carries, averaging 5 yards per attempt. Terrell Washington Jr. was the focal point of the offense with 133 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries.

Wylie East is best on offense when they can run down the field, converting long drives as they did against West Mesquite. The Raiders have a strong backfield, with Ka’Neal Reed, Christian Williams, Brandan Nurse, Tristan Lee and Charis Jackson complementing quarterbacks Washington Jr. and Jaedon Hubbard. Wylie East’s big focus to continue establishing strong blocking against Paris.

2. Stop the Wildcats’ rushing attack

Paris relies on a heavy ground game, rushing over 30 times a game. In their win over Kaufman, the Wildcats had 284 rushing yards on 49 carries. Taydrick Dawson had 123 yards on 16 carries and Lyric Treadwell had 69 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries. Against Terrell, Paris finished with 351 rushing yards on 47 carries. Treadwell had 150 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries, while Luke Hohenberger finished with 73 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. 

Limiting the Wildcats on offense will mean providing pressure to their rushing attack, which should lead to more opportunities for the Raiders

3. Play smart and disciplined

Wylie East’s struggles this season have often resulted in a high number of turnovers, including an interception in five consecutive games. The Raiders had a good performance against West Mesquite with no interceptions while recording two turnovers. In order to get the win, the Raiders will need to avoid turnovers and limit penalties.

A full recap of the Wylie East versus Paris game will be available in next week’s issue of The Wylie News.

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By Jackson King• [email protected]