The Mercedes Tigers will challenge the Lopez Lobos at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Mercedes is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to 40 points back in September, they were much more limited against Edcouch-Elsa on Friday. They received a blow as they fell 21-7 to the Yellowjackets. The game marked the Tigers' lowest-scoring matchup so far this season.
Despite the defeat, Mercedes got top-tier performance from Robert Sanchez, who rushed for 82 yards and a touchdown.
Meanwhile, Lopez had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 16 points) and they went ahead and made it three on Thursday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat the Javelinas 41-14 on the road.
Lopez's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Guadalupe Ramirez, who threw for 256 yards and five touchdowns while completing 81% of his passes. Ramirez is crushing it when it comes to passing touchdowns: he's passed for at least three every time he's taken the field this season. Eddie Slovak helped Ramirez out on the ground, rushing for 178 yards and a touchdown while picking up 11.1 yards per carry, and also picking up 45 receiving yards.
This is the second loss in a row for Mercedes and nudges their season record down to 3-3. As for Lopez, their win bumped their record up to 5-1.
We should be in store for an exciting game as both have no problem gaining yardage. Mercedes has been on an offensive roll this season, having averaged 437.3 total yards per game. However, it's not like Lopez struggles in that department as they've been averaging 402.3. With a pair of commanding offenses duking it out, the defenses are going to have their work cut out for them.
Everything came up roses for Mercedes against Lopez when the teams last played back in October of 2017, as the squad secured a 34-7 victory. Will Mercedes repeat their success, or does Lopez have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
