Two dominant backs in Landan Johnson and Jayden Johnson are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Muncie Central Bearcats are taking a road trip to square off against the Marion Giants at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Muncie Central is probably headed into the matchup with a chip on their shoulder considering Lafayette Jefferson just ended the team's four-game winning streak on Friday. They had to suffer through a 55-22 loss at the hands of the Bronchos. While losing is never fun, the Bearcats can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana football rankings (they are ranked 99th, while the Bronchos are ranked 23rd).

Dae'Cion Echols
| 08/22/25 @ Delta | 132 |
| 10/17/25 @ Lafayette Jefferson | 86 |
| 09/19/25 @ Marion | 75 |
| 10/10/25 vs Kokomo | 64 |
| 09/26/25 vs Richmond | 50 |
Muncie Central's defeat came about despite a quality game from Mason Ferguson, who rushed for 84 yards and one touchdown on only seven carries, and also threw for 141 yards on 12 of 25 attempts. Ferguson really tore up the turf during one magnificent 96-yard run. Dae'Cion Echols helped out on the ground, rushing for 86 yards.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Marion, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Friday. They took their contest on Friday with ease, bagging a 58-21 victory over Anderson. With the Giants ahead 40-14 at the half, the game was all but over already.
Muncie Central's loss was their first in the conference, dropping their conference record down to 4-1 and their overall record down to 5-4. As for Marion, their win was their first in the conference, bumping their conference record up to 1-4 and their overall record up to 2-7.
Muncie Central took their victory against Marion in their previous meeting back in September by a conclusive 41-21 score. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was the Giants' Timotheus Jones, who rushed for 62 yards and one TD, and also picked up 86 receiving yards. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will the Bearcats still be able to contain Jones? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps