Two dominant signal callers in Dane Duryea and Brady Hayes are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Anselmo-Merna Coyotes will take on the Lyons-Decatur Northeast Cougars at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams are strolling into their contests after big wins in their previous games.
Lyons-Decatur Northeast will be up against a hot Anselmo-Merna squad: the team just extended their winning streak to four. The Coyotes blew past Palmer 56-8 on Friday. Given the Coyotes' advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska football rankings (they are ranked eighth, while the Tigers are ranked 99th) , the win wasn't entirely unexpected.
Anselmo-Merna found their leader in sophomore Duryea, who rushed for 126 yards and five scores on only 13 carries.
Anselmo-Merna's run defense was locked in: Palmer could only muster 0.8 yards per carry. The team can thank Drake Doss for the heroic effort on defense: he. Anselmo-Merna's run defense has been on the up-and-up: they allowed 4.72 yards per carry earlier this season, but they've only allowed 7.7 on average over their last five games.
Anselmo-Merna's defense didn't let the opposing QB, get away unscathed either: they got into the backfield for five sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Jarrett Wells and Tate Seevers, who racked up four sacks between them.
Meanwhile, Lyons-Decatur Northeast was fully in charge on Friday, breezing past Walthill 48-6. Considering the Cougars have won three matchups by more than 35 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Anselmo-Merna better focus on containing Kaden Knaak and Josh Mendez as the pair were huge in Lyons-Decatur Northeast's win. Knaak picked up 80 receiving yards and a pair of TDs, while Mendez rushed for 36 yards and one touchdown. Knaak didn't just play on offense: he also picked up two sacks and made four total tackles.
Lyons-Decatur Northeast didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Noah Erickson and Eric Hart. Hart got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.
The win got Lyons-Decatur Northeast back to even at 4-4. As for Anselmo-Merna, their victory bumped their record up to 7-1.
Thursday's game might be decided on the ground. Anselmo-Merna has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 250.6 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Lyons-Decatur Northeast struggles in that department as they've been averaging 244.5 rushing yards. There's a good chance Thursday's contest turns into a tough fight on the ground. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
