Preview: Van Vleck Leopards vs. East Bernard Brahmas
Van Vleck is 2-7 against East Bernard since October of 2014 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Van Vleck Leopards will look to defend their home field against the East Bernard Brahmas at 7:30 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the pair will really light up the scoreboard.
Last Friday, Van Vleck earned a 42-35 win over Rice Consolidated.
Corey Austin was his usual excellent self, rushing for 201 yards and two touchdowns on only 14 carries. Austin is on a roll when it comes to rushing yards, as he's now rushed for 100 or more in the last five games he's played. Brett Noster was another key contributor, rushing for 73 yards and two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, East Bernard put the finishing touches on their fourth blowout victory of the season on Friday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Boling 56-14 at home. The victory was nothing new for East Bernard as they're now sitting on three straight.
Alexander Henriquez was a one-man wrecking crew for East Bernard as he rushed for 203 yards and three touchdowns on only 11 carries, and also caught a touchdown. Henriquez's longest rush was for an incredible 70 yards. Another player making a difference was Malik Thomas, who rushed for 63 yards and two touchdowns on only seven carries.
Another reason for the win was East Bernard's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for three sacks. Leading the way was Tamarcus Sanders and his two sacks.
Van Vleck is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five games, which provided a nice bump to their 4-4 record this season. As for East Bernard, their victory was their third straight at home, bumping their overall record up to 5-3.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's game: Van Vleck has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 295.8 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like East Bernard struggles in that department as they've been averaging 159.9 per game. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Van Vleck won a contest that couldn't have been any closer in their previous meeting back in October of 2022, slipping by East Bernard 15-14. Does Van Vleck have another victory up their sleeve, or will East Bernard turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
