Football Preview: Lake Central Indians vs. Merrillville Pirates
Lake Central hasn't had much luck against Merrillville recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Lake Central Indians are taking a road trip to face off against the Merrillville Pirates at 7:00 p.m.
Last Friday, Lake Central was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 20-14 to Michigan City.
Meanwhile, Merrillville had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 20.3 points) and they went ahead and made it four on Friday. They took their matchup at home with ease, bagging a 35-7 win over the Vikings. Considering the Pirates have won five matches by more than 23 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Jac'Quarious Johnson was his usual excellent self, rushing for 226 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 12.6 yards per carry. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 109.4 rushing yards per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Jordan Sanders, who threw for 144 yards and two touchdowns.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Merrillville was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 290 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in October of 2023.
Merrillville's defense made their presence known, laying out Kellan Hosek. three times. Leading the way was Stanley Freeman with two sacks.
Lake Central's defeat dropped their record down to 3-3. As for Merrillville, their victory bumped their record up to 6-1.
Lake Central was dealt a bruising 38-9 loss at the hands of Merrillville in their previous matchup back in October of 2023. Can Lake Central avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
