Flag Football Game Preview: Merced Bears vs. Golden Valley Cougars + How To Watch

vs

Previous 5 Games

09/23/25 - Home	66-0 W
10/10/24 - Home	39-12 W
09/24/24 - Away	20-7 W
10/10/23 - Away	19-7 W
09/12/23 - Home	26-12 W

Merced has gone a perfect 5-0 against Golden Valley recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Thursday. The Bears will challenge the Cougars at 7:00 p.m. Merced's defense has only allowed 11.2 points per game this season, so Golden Valley's offense will have their work cut out for them.

On Tuesday, Merced was fully in charge, breezing past Los Banos 51-13. Considering the Bears have won 14 contests by more than 19 points this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.

Meanwhile, Golden Valley was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their eighth straight defeat. They were beaten by El Capitan 52-0. While losing is never fun, the Cougars can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California flag football rankings (they are ranked 581st, while the Gauchos are ranked 65th).

Golden Valley's loss dropped their record down to 4-14. As for Merced, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won nine of their last ten matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 19-3 record this season.

Everything came up roses for Merced against Golden Valley when the teams last played two weeks ago, as the squad secured a 66-0 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Bears since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.