Football Preview: Hawley Bearcats vs. Merkel Badgers
The Hawley Bearcats will take on the Merkel Badgers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Merkel took a loss in their last match and will be looking to turn the tables on Hawley, who comes in off a win.
Hawley's defense heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. Everything went their way against Albany as Hawley made off with a 21-0 victory. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Bearcats.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Hawley to victory, but perhaps none more so than Keagan Ables, who threw for 314 yards and a touchdown while completing 73.3% of his passes, and also rushed for 67 yards. With that strong performance, Ables is now averaging an impressive 304 passing yards per game. Kenny Cole was Ables' top target, picking up 120 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Meanwhile, Merkel was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Friday as they fell 20-14 to Bangs. The Badgers have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Despite their loss, Merkel saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Bronson Lloyd, who threw for 148 yards and two touchdowns, was perhaps the best of all. The dominant performance gave him a new career- in total yards. 120 of those passing yards were hauled in by Cj Walcott.
Hawley's win was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 2-0. As for Merkel, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-2.
Everything came up roses for Hawley against Merkel in their previous matchup back in September of 2021 as the squad secured a 41-7 victory. Does Hawley have another victory up their sleeve, or will Merkel turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
