Merritt hasn't had much luck against Hooker recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Merritt Oilers will square off against the Hooker Bulldogs at 7:00 p.m.
Merritt is headed into Friday's contest looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their fourth straight game on Thursday. They had to suffer through a 45-0 loss at the hands of Hinton. The matchup marked the first time this season in which the Oilers were not able to get on the board.
Meanwhile, Hooker waltzed into their match on Thursday with five straight wins... but they left with six. They blew past the Yellowjackets, posting a 38-7 victory at home. The Bulldogs might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five games by 30 points or more this season.
Kleat Martens was his usual excellent self, rushing for 168 yards and three touchdowns on only 15 carries, while also throwing for 34 yards and a touchdown. That's the most rushing yards he has posted since back in September of 2023. Another player making a difference was Justin Palacios, who rushed for 167 yards and a touchdown on only 12 carries.
Another reason for the win was Hooker's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for nine sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Nate Hidalgo and Peyton Parker, who racked up four sacks between them. Hooker got some further help from Hunter Ray: he picked up a sack and made ten total tackles (2.0 for loss).
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Hooker was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 361 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 158 rushing yards in seven consecutive contests.
Merritt's loss dropped their record down to 1-6. As for Hooker, their win was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 6-1.
Merritt was taken down by Hooker 49-13 in their previous matchup back in October of 2023. Can Merritt avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
