Preview: Merkel Badgers vs. Eastland Mavericks
Merkel is 1-6 against Eastland since August of 2014 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Merkel Badgers will be playing in front of their home fans against the Eastland Mavericks at 7:00 p.m. One thing working in Merkel's favor is that they have now posted big point totals in their last five contests.
Last Friday, Merkel got the win against Dublin by a conclusive 47-21. With Merkel ahead 27-7 at the half, the game was all but over already.
Merkel got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Maddox O'malley out in front who rushed for 100 yards and two touchdowns on only six carries, and also threw for 162 yards and three touchdowns on only 14 passes. Another player making a difference was Connor Willyerd, who rushed for 168 yards and a touchdown on only 14 carries.
Meanwhile, Eastland was the victim of a rough 49-24 loss at the hands of Jacksboro on Friday. While losing is never fun, Eastland can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 570th, while Jacksboro is ranked 240th).
Eastland's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Griffin Beard, who picked up 99 receiving yards and a touchdown, and Isaiah Hays who threw for 209 yards and two touchdowns. Beard's longest reception was for an incredible 78 yards.
The opposite results left the teams with opposite records: Merkel's win pushed their record up to 5-1, while Eastland's loss dropped theirs down to 1-5.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday' game: Merkel has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 254.7 rushing yards per game. It's a different story for Eastland, though, as they've been averaging only 94 per game. How will Eastland fare against such a dominant running game?
Merkel didn't have too much breathing room in their match against Eastland in their previous meeting back in October of 2022, but they still walked away with a 34-28 win. Will Merkel repeat their success, or does Eastland have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
