Milby and Austin prepare for Houston-area slugfest

Taco Bell and Dave Campbell's Texas Football have teamed up to feature one must-see Texas high school football matchup each week in the Houston area. This week: Houston Austin vs. Houston Milby, 7 p.m. Friday night at Barnett Stadium.

When Houston Austin and Houston Milby meet in the team’s season opener Friday night, the two programs will be looking to return to a sense of normality after missing the first two weeks of the year due to Hurricane Harvey. The meeting will be the sixth time the schools have played since 2010, and Milby controlled the majority of the matchups until last season. Austin snapped a three-game losing streak to the Buffs with a commanding 36-21 victory in 2016. The Mustangs went on to advance to the playoffs last year before being bounced by powerhouse Manvel in the first round. Now the programs will meet Friday in the first edition of the Taco Bell Houston Rivalry Series, looking to kick their season off on the right foot. The importance of the season opener is magnified by the fact that the game marks the start of the District 24-5A schedule for both teams, meaning there are playoff implications on the line without either school having the ability to grow through the non-district schedule. Austin enters with a major edge in experience this season, as the Mustangs return nine starters on offense and eight starters on defense from last year’s playoff team. The school is entering its third year under coach Robin Kirk, and has a lot of talent to work with heading into the year. The offense will predominately run through senior running back Trevion Rodriguez, who had 1,058 yards and 11 TDs in just seven games last sesaon, and quarterback Malik Hornsby (1,689 total yards, 13 TDs). Milby will be looking to bounce back from a 3-6 record as the Buffs enter year two under coach Matthew Puente. Like Austin, Milby returns a talented running back in Demetri Elliot, who was an all-district performer on both sides of the ball and tallied 603 yards, in addition to 3 interceptions in the secondary. LB Ethan Duron will be important in slowing down the dynamic backfield the Mustangs bring to the table.