Merced gave their fans exactly what they wanted out of a home opener on Friday. They came out on top against the Patterson Tigers by a score of 30-23. For the Bears, this counts as revenge for the 39-21 win the Tigers walked away with the last time they faced one another back in August of 2024.
Vicente Cortez
| 08/22/25 vs Patterson | 131 |
| 10/18/24 vs El Capitan | 111.1 |
| 09/27/24 vs Enochs | 106.3 |
| 08/29/24 @ Gregori | 104.2 |
| 10/11/24 vs Los Banos | 99.3 |
Vicente Cortez looked great while leading his team to the win, throwing for 206 yards and three TDs while completing 75% of his passes. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in passer rating (131). Anthony Tachiera helped Cortez out on the ground, rushing for 58 yards and one score on only five carries.
Despite the loss, Patterson had strong showings from Dasen Pettis, who rushed for 127 yards and one touchdown, and Jacob Pierce, who threw for 194 yards and a pair of TDs.
Merced has already played their next game, a 45-13 victory against Gregori on the 29th. As for Patterson, they also wasted no time getting back out on the field and have already played their next match, a 14-11 defeat against California on the 29th.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
