The Merritt Island Christian Cougars will square off against the Countryside Christian Minutemen at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Merritt Island Christian comes in on nine and Countryside Christian on three.
Merritt Island Christian is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Florida's top teams: Four Corners, who was ranked 12th in their home state at the time (Merritt Island Christian was ranked second). Everything went Merritt Island Christian's way against Four Corners on Friday as Merritt Island Christian made off with a 45-20 victory. The result was nothing new for the Cougars, who have now won four matches by 20 points or more so far this season.
It was another big night for Nathanael Buccio, who rushed for 185 yards and three touchdowns on only eight carries. The bulk of those rushing yards came from one huge play: a run that gained an incredible 94 yards. Caleb Richeson was another key back, rushing for 91 yards and a touchdown on only five carries.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Merritt Island Christian was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 329 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in September of 2023.
Meanwhile, Countryside Christian got themselves on the board against First Coast Christian last Friday, but First Coast Christian never followed suit. They breezed by the Knights on the road to the tune of 36-0. The Minutemen might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won three games by 36 points or more this season.
Merritt Island Christian's win bumped their record up to 6-0. As for Countryside Christian, their victory bumped their record up to 3-1.
Merritt Island Christian skirted past Countryside Christian 24-22 in their previous meeting back in November of 2023. Will Merritt Island Christian repeat their success, or does Countryside Christian have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
