After each having a week off, the Dayton Broncos and the Montgomery Bears will dust off their jerseys to face off against one another at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: both posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Dayton will head into Friday's matchup after some sweet revenge against Porter: Dayton couldn't quite topple Porter two weeks ago, but it was still a huge improvement compared to the 21-point loss they took when the two last played. Dayton put the hurt on Porter with a sharp 42-20 win. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest victory the Broncos have posted against the Spartans since November 7, 2014.
Dayton's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Jaleel Kendrick, who rushed for 154 yards and two touchdowns. The dominant performance gave Kendrick a new career-high in rushing yards. The team also got some help courtesy of Jerry Prieto Jr, who threw for 177 yards and two touchdowns.
Dayton's defense stepped up as well, laying out the QB 11 times. Andrew Soliz led the group effort, picking up four of those sacks all by himself. He is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made five or more in the last seven games he's played dating back to last season. Dayton got some further help from Angelo Hadley: he picked up a sack and made nine total tackles (2.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, Montgomery put another one in the bag two weeks ago to keep their perfect season alive. They breezed by Elgin at home to the tune of 67-26. Given the Bears' advantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 214th, while the Wildcats are ranked 594th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Montgomery got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Damion Taylor out in front who rushed for 95 yards and a touchdown, and also picked up 43 receiving yards. Taylor really tore up the turf during one magnificent 89-yard run. Montgomery also got help from Talan Shavers, who showed off his sure hands for 126 receiving yards.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Montgomery was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 399 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 203 rushing yards in five consecutive games dating back to last season.
Montgomery wouldn't let Elgin keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Montgomery can thank Phillip Raglin and Braxden Havard for forcing both of them.
Dayton now has a winning record of 2-1. As for Montgomery, their record now sits at 3-0.
Friday's contest might be decided in the on the ground. Dayton has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 160 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Montgomery struggles in that department as they've been averaging 359. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Dayton didn't have too much breathing room in their matchup against Montgomery when the teams last played back in September of 2023, but they still walked away with a 39-34 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Dayton since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
