Football Preview: Merrillville Pirates vs. Valparaiso Vikings
Two dominant backs in Jac'Quarious Johnson and Thomas Burda are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Merrillville Pirates will be playing at home against the Valparaiso Vikings at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Merrillville will be looking to extend their current three-game winning streak.
Merrillville's defense heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They really took it to La Porte for the full four quarters, racking up a 35-0 win on the road. The Pirates might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four games by 24 points or more this season.
Johnson continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 158 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 7.9 yards per carry. Cameron Jordan was another key back, rushing for 77 yards and a touchdown.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Merrillville was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 237 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in October of 2023.
Merrillville's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged three passes before it was all said and done. It was truly a group effort as John Peters, Jaiden Mason, and Antuan Jenkins picked up one apiece.
Meanwhile, Valparaiso entered their match against Crown Point on Friday without any home losses, but there's a first time for everything. Valparaiso was outmatched by Crown Point at home and fell 41-7. The matchup marked the Vikings' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.
Merrillville pushed their record up to 5-1 with the victory, which was their sixth straight on the road dating back to last season. As for Valparaiso, their loss ended a seven-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 4-2.
Friday's game might be decided in the on the ground. Merrillville has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 187.3 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Valparaiso struggles in that department as they've been averaging 158.3. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Merrillville didn't have too much breathing room in their matchup against Valparaiso in their previous meeting back in November of 2023, but they still walked away with a 24-20 win. Does Merrillville have another victory up their sleeve, or will Valparaiso turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
