The Palmer Bulldogs will challenge the Madison Trojans at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
On Thursday, Palmer made easy work of Life Oak Cliff and carried off a 41-21 victory. The result was nothing new for the Bulldogs, who have now won five games by 20 points or more so far this season.
Palmer got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Eric Cisneros out in front who rushed for 184 yards and three scores while picking up 10.8 yards per carry, and also threw for 166 yards and one TD on only 15 passes. Cisneros didn't just play on offense: he also made five total tackles and defended one pass. Another back making a difference was Sutton Maddox, who gained 206 total yards and a touchdown.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Palmer was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 309 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 174 rushing yards in 19 consecutive contests dating back to last season.
Another reason for the win was Palmer's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for three sacks. Jacob Medina was especially locked on to Life Oak Cliff's QB and sacked him twice.
Meanwhile, Madison was not able to break out of their rough patch two weeks ago as the team picked up their sixth straight defeat. They took a 42-35 hit to the loss column at the hands of Life Oak Cliff. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game on October 10th (33), the Trojans still had to take the loss.
Palmer will have to keep a close watch on Randy Hudson and Kevieon TucKer, a pair of players who had a big impact on Madison's prior game. Hudson threw for 226 yards and a pair of touchdowns while picking up 11.3 yards per attempt, while Tucker rushed for 107 yards on only 14 carries.
Madison didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Jereme Waites and Rashad Jones.
Palmer's victory bumped their record up to 7-2. As for Madison, their loss dropped their record down to 1-7.
Palmer beat Madison 35-25 when the teams last played back in November of 2024. Will the Bulldogs repeat their success, or do the Trojans have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
