After each having a week off, the Montgomery Bears and the Dayton Broncos will dust off their jerseys to square off against one another at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are strolling into their matchups after big wins in their previous games.
Dayton is hoping to do what Elgin couldn't two weeks ago: put an end to Montgomery's winning streak (dating back to last season), which now stands at five games. Montgomery blew past Elgin, posting a 67-26 victory at home. 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. Keldrid Ben was another key rusher, rushing for 73 yards and two touchdowns on only seven carries.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: 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 contests 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.
Meanwhile, after only ten points in their last game, Dayton made sure to put some points up on the board against Porter two weeks ago. Dayton put the hurt on Porter with a sharp 42-20 victory. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest win the Broncos have posted against the Spartans since November 7, 2014.
Dayton's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was 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.
Another reason for the win was Dayton's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for 11 sacks. 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. Angelo Hadley was another major factor on D, picking up a sack and making nine total tackles (2.0 for loss).
Montgomery's win bumped their record up to 3-0. As for Dayton, they now have a winning record of 2-1.
Friday's match might be decided in the on the ground. Montgomery has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 359 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Dayton struggles in that department as they've been averaging 160. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Montgomery came up short against Dayton in their previous meeting back in September of 2023, falling 39-34. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Dayton's Denim Foster, who rushed for 74 yards and three touchdowns. Now that Montgomery knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
