Football Preview: Melbourne Bearkatz vs. Atkins Red Devils
Melbourne has been on the road for two straight, but on Friday they'll finally head home. They will host the Atkins Red Devils at 7:00 p.m.
Melbourne is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to 43 points last Friday, they were much more limited against Mayflower on Friday. They fell just short of the Eagles by a score of 13-10. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest defeat the Bearkatz have suffered since October 20, 2023.
Meanwhile, Atkins waltzed into their contest on Friday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They snuck past the Greyhounds with a 40-36 win.
Jaden Martin and Mason Martin were among the main playmakers for Atkins as the former gained 164 total yards and three touchdowns and the latter gained 135 total yards and a touchdown. With that strong performance, Jaden is now averaging an impressive 103.7 rushing yards per game.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Atkins was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 265 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 208 rushing yards in six consecutive matchups.
Melbourne's loss ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 4-2. As for Atkins, their victory bumped their record up to 5-1.
Melbourne barely slipped by Atkins in their previous matchup back in November of 2023, winning 18-17. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Martin, who rushed for 108 yards and a touchdown. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Melbourne still be able to contain Martin? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
