Merced has won three straight games at home, while El Capitan has won three straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Tuesday. The Merced Bears will host the El Capitan Gauchos at 7:00 p.m. Merced is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 28.1 points per game this season.
Last Thursday, Merced blew past Buhach Colony, posting a 42-12 win on the road. The result was nothing new for the Bears, who have now won seven contests by 20 points or more so far this season.
Merced found their leader in underclassman Antonia Lejarde, who threw for 253 yards and three touchdowns while completing 71.8% of her passes, and also rushed for 53 yards and a touchdown. Those 53 rushing yards gave Lejarde a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Ryann Perez, who gained 90 total yards and two touchdowns.
Merced didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Alyssa Oseguera and Leah Perez.
Meanwhile, El Capitan earned a 28-20 victory over Los Banos on Thursday. Given the Gauchos' advantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 96th, while the Tigers are ranked 509th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Ariel Ochoa continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, throwing for 352 yards and four touchdowns while completing 80.4% of her passes. 120 of those passing yards were hauled in by Bailee Moniz.
Merced has been performing well recently as they've won nine of their last 12 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 14-6 record this season. As for El Capitan, their win bumped their record up to 19-7.
Tuesday's game will pit two of the most dominant signal callers against one another: Lejarde and Ochoa. Lejarde has put up some stellar numbers this year, and currently owns excellent season averages 235.2 passing yards and has 61 passing touchdowns on the season. For her part, Ochoa has averaged 302.3 passing yards and has 106 passing touchdowns on the season.
Merced ended up a good deal behind El Capitan in their previous matchup on October 3rd, losing 34-19. Will Merced have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other football content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
