Preview: East Bernard Brahmas vs. Van Vleck Leopards
East Bernard is 7-2 against Van Vleck since October of 2014, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The East Bernard Brahmas will head out on the road to face off against the Van Vleck Leopards at 7:30 p.m. Both teams come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
East Bernard put the finishing touches on their fourth blowout victory of the season on Friday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Boling 56-14 at home. Winning may never get old, but East Bernard sure are getting used to it with their third in a row.
Alexander Henriquez was a one-man wrecking crew for East Bernard as he rushed for 203 yards and three touchdowns on only 11 carries, and also caught a touchdown. Henriquez's longest rush was for an incredible 70 yards. Malik Thomas also deserves a shout-out for his two touchdowns.
Another reason for the win was East Bernard's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for three sacks. Leading the way was Tamarcus Sanders and his two sacks.
Meanwhile, even though Rice Consolidated scored an imposing 35 points on Friday, Van Vleck still came out on top. Van Vleck walked away with a 42-35 victory over Rice Consolidated.
Corey Austin was his usual excellent self, rushing for 201 yards and two touchdowns on only 14 carries. Austin hasn't dropped below 100 rushing yards for five straight games. Brett Noster was another key contributor, rushing for 73 yards and two touchdowns.
East Bernard has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 5-3 record this season. As for Van Vleck, their victory bumped their record up to 4-4.
Friday's matchup might be decided on the ground as these two are both standouts in the run game. East Bernard has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 159.9 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Van Vleck struggles in that department as they've been even better at 295.8 per game. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
East Bernard and Van Vleck were almost perfectly matched up in their previous meeting back in October of 2022, but East Bernard suffered an agonizing 15-14 defeat. Can East Bernard avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
