Akron will head out on the road to challenge Merino at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Akron has eight straight wins, Merino has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Akron is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Colorado's top teams: Sedgwick County, who was ranked ninth at the time (Akron was ranked first). The Rams snuck past the Cougars with a 26-20 victory on Friday. The score was all tied up 14-14 at the break, but the Rams were the better team in the second half.
Jace Curtis was his usual excellent self, rushing for 110 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while also throwing for 94 yards and two TDs. He also deserves a shoutout for his performance on D, making 15 total tackles (2.0 for loss) and defending one pass.
Meanwhile, Merino played a tough matchup last Friday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They were outmatched by Sedgwick County and fell 52-6. The Rams were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 44-6.
Merino's defeat dropped their record down to 3-5. As for Akron, their win bumped their record up to 8-0.
Everything went Akron's way against Merino in their previous meeting back in November of 2024, as Akron made off with a 56-32 victory. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Merino's Coen Schmidt, who rushed for 193 yards and a pair of scores while picking up 8.4 yards per carry, and also threw for 281 yards and two TDs while completing 72% of his passes. Now that he won't be playing on Friday, will it be easier for Akron to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
