After each having a week off, the Dayton Broncos and the Montgomery Bears will shake off the cobwebs and challenge one another at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Dayton will head into Friday's match 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 victory. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest win the Broncos have posted against the Spartans since November 7, 2014.
Dayton can attribute much of their success to Jaleel Kendrick, who rushed for 154 yards and two touchdowns, and Jerry Prieto Jr, who threw for 177 yards and two touchdowns. The dominant performance gave Kendrick a new career-high in rushing yards.
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's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Damion Taylor led the charge by rushing for 95 yards and a touchdown, while also picking up 43 receiving yards. Taylor really tore up the turf during one magnificent 89-yard run. Keldrid Ben was another key player, 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 matchups 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 game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Dayton didn't have too much breathing room in their match 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
