Football Game Preview: Bloomington Bruins vs. Carter Lions

The Bloomington Bruins will venture away from home to face off against the Carter Lions at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

On Friday, Bloomington needed a bit of extra time to put away Arroyo Valley. They skirted past the Hawks 16-14. The score was all tied up 0-0 at the break, but the Bruins were the better team in the second half.

Meanwhile, the third road matchup was the charm for Carter, as they earned their first away win of the season. They blew past Notre Dame 41-20 on Thursday. That looming 41-20 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Lions yet this season.

A big part of Carter's victory came down to the chemistry between Raymond Rubio and his top target Deshalon Allen. Rubio threw for 168 yards and a pair of touchdowns while Allen rushed for 145 yards and one TD on only 13 carries. The team also got some help courtesy of Andre Clark, who rushed for 61 yards and one score on only eight carries.

Carter was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 285 rushing yards. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 95.7 rushing yards per game earlier this season, but in their last five contests they've averaged 203.

Carter didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Elijah Larios and Rahshun Turner.

Bloomington is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four games. That's provided a nice bump to their 3-3 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 14.3 points on average over those games. As for Carter, the victory got them back to even at 3-3.

Things could have been worse for Bloomington, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 35-17 loss to Carter in their previous meeting back in October of 2024. Can the Bruins avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.