Preview: Merced Bears vs. Oakdale Mustangs
Merced is 0-3 against Oakdale since November of 2016 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Merced Bears will head out on the road to face off against the Oakdale Mustangs at 7:00 p.m. Merced has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 168 points over their last three matches.
Two teams were on the hunt for playoff glory, but only Merced walked away with it. They took their game at home on Friday with ease, bagging a 47-0 victory over Bella Vista. Considering Merced has won seven matchups by more than 21 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Merced's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Quintell Dupree, who rushed for 107 yards and a touchdown on only seven carries, and also threw for 139 yards and two touchdowns. Dupree was no stranger to the big play, taking off on a dash that went for 57 yards. The team also got some help courtesy of Chase Smith, who rushed for 88 yards and three touchdowns on only 12 carries.
Meanwhile, Oakdale and Manteca were almost perfectly matched up two weeks ago, but Oakdale suffered an agonizing 28-27 defeat. Oakdale has struggled against Manteca recently, as their contest two weeks ago was their third consecutive lost matchup.
Merced is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight contests, which provided a nice bump to their 8-3 record this season. As for Oakdale, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-3.
Merced might still be hurting after the 35-14 defeat they got from Oakdale when the teams last played back in April of 2021. Can Merced avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
