The Live Oak Acorns will face off against the Branham Bruins at 7:15 p.m. on Friday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.
Live Oak is probably headed into the match with a chip on their shoulder considering Santa Teresa just ended the team's three-game winning streak on Friday. They and the Saints were almost perfectly matched up, but they suffered a 17-16 loss.
Although Live Oak took the loss, they still got scores from Noah Rivera and Adrian Leal.
Meanwhile, Branham was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap last Friday as they fell 34-28 to Santa Teresa.
Branham might have lost, but man, Michael Murphy was a machine: he rushed for 77 yards and two touchdowns. Richard Martin was another key rusher, rushing for 115 yards on only 14 carries.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Branham was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 206 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 160 rushing yards in three consecutive matchups.
Live Oak's defeat dropped their record down to 3-5. As for Branham, their loss dropped their record down to 4-3.
Live Oak took their win against Branham in their previous meeting back in September of 2023 by a conclusive 42-21. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Branham's Preston Conrad, who picked up 147 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Now that he won't be playing on Friday, will it be easier for Live Oak to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
