The Commerce Tigers will head out to take on the Mineola Yellowjackets at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Commerce has four straight wins, Mineola has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Fans were treated to a battle of the Tigers last Friday. Commerce took down Malakoff 50-31. Commerce pushed the score to 38-17 by the end of the third, a deficit Malakoff cut but never quite recovered from.
Aidan Brown continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 116 yards and two scores on only 14 carries, while also throwing for 222 yards and three touchdowns on only 13 passes. He also deserves a shoutout for his performance on D, making four total tackles and defending one pass in addition to snagging an interception. Commerce's leading receiver Malik Garcia was Brown's top target yet again, picking up 119 receiving yards, while also rushing for 69 yards.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Commerce was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 291 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 211 rushing yards in ten consecutive matchups dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Mineola played a tough contest on Friday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They were outmatched by Malakoff and fell 51-19. While losing is never fun, the Yellowjackets can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 705th, while the Tigers are ranked 182nd).
Mineola's defeat dropped their record down to 2-5. As for Commerce, their victory bumped their record up to 4-1.
Friday's game might be decided on the ground. Commerce has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 291.6 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Mineola struggles in that department as they've been averaging 236.7 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's matchup turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Everything came up roses for Commerce against Mineola when the teams last played back in October of 2024, as the team secured a 38-7 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Tigers since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
