Football Preview: Melbourne Bulldogs vs. Osceola Kowboys
The Melbourne Bulldogs will venture away from home to take on the Osceola Kowboys at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Melbourne will be hoping to continue their four-game streak of scoring more points each matchup than the last.
Melbourne is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They claimed a resounding 31-0 win over Palm Bay at home. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest victory of the season.
The critical scores for Melbourne came from Carter Black and Wyatt Votava.
Melbourne was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 275 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 173 rushing yards in five consecutive contests.
Melbourne's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. The picks came courtesy of Votava and Jerel Patrick. Votava is also crushing it when it comes to total tackles: he's made at least nine every time he's taken the field this season. Another thorn in Palm Bay's side was Jason Melidor, who picked up 1.5 sacks and made seven total tackles (2.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, Osceola has relied on a stalwart defense averaging 15.6 points allowed per game, but that average took a hit on Thursday. They fell to Jones 34-28. The defeat continues a trend for the Kowboys in their matchups with the Fightin' Tigers: they've now lost three in a row.
Despite the loss, Osceola got top-tier performance from Taevion Swint, who rushed for 112 yards and two touchdowns.
Even if they lost, Osceola's defensive line still kept up the pressure with eight sacks. Joshua Alamo was especially locked on to Jones' QB and sacked him three times. Jakyri Watson was another major factor on D, making 12 total tackles and defending five passes.
Melbourne now has a winning record of 3-2. As for Osceola, their defeat dropped their record down to an identical 3-2.
Friday's game might be decided in the on the ground. Melbourne has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 229.4 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Osceola struggles in that department as they've been averaging 236.8. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more football content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
