After each having a week off, The Merritt Island Christian Cougars and the Countryside Christian Minutemen will shake off the cobwebs and face off against one another at 6:00 p.m. on November 2nd. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.
Two weeks ago, Merritt Island Christian faced Lake Mary Prep in a battle between two of the state's top teams. Merritt Island Christian's tough 52-30 defeat to Lake Mary Prep might stick with them for a while. Despite 54 more yards than Lake Mary Prep, Merritt Island Christian couldn't convert that extra yardage to scores.
Despite the defeat, Merritt Island Christian got a solid performance out of Genesis Grimstead, who rushed for 124 yards and two touchdowns on only 15 carries. Grimstead's longest rush was for an incredible 70 yards. Another player making a difference was Bode Handwork, who threw for 233 yards and a touchdown while picking up 11.1 yards per attempt.
Meanwhile, after some red-hot offensive attacks in their last three matches, Countryside Christian finally came back down to earth two weeks ago. The matchup between Countryside Christian and Ocala Christian wasn't particularly close, with Countryside Christian falling 22-6.
Merritt Island Christian has traveled a rocky road recently, as they've lost three of their last four matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-4 record this season. As for Countryside Christian, they now have a losing record at 3-4.
Thursday's contest might be decided on the ground as these two are both standouts in the run game. Merritt Island Christian has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 181.4 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Countryside Christian struggles in that department as they've been even better at 188.9 per game. It's looking like Thursday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
