Football Recap: Merritt Academy Mustangs vs. Akron-Fairgrove Vikings
Merritt Academy waltzed into their contest on Friday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They breezed by the Akron-Fairgrove Vikings at home to the tune of 45-16. Considering the Mustangs have won four games by more than 28 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Anthony Casper had an outrageously good game as he threw for 155 yards and three touchdowns on only nine passes, and also rushed for 51 yards. He has become a key player for Merritt Academy: the team is 2-1 when he posts at least three passing touchdowns, but 2-3 otherwise. Caden Siler got in on the action as well, returning a kick for a touchdown.
Merritt Academy didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Brody Westhouse. Merritt Academy got some further help from Jackson Dupuis: he picked up a sack, forced a fumble, and made 18 total tackles (2.0 for loss).
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Merritt Academy was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 212 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 212 rushing yards in three consecutive matches.
Merritt Academy has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 4-4 record this season. As for Akron-Fairgrove, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 3-5.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Merritt Academy will take on Dryden at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Merritt Academy will be looking to keep their six-game home win streak dating back to last season alive. As for Akron-Fairgrove, they will face off against Mayville at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Mayville is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 28.3 points per game this season.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
