Downey was the 48-34 winner over Merced when they last played one another back in September of 2024, but their luck changed this time around. The Knights fell just short of the Bears by a score of 41-39 on Friday. The Knights gained 129 more yards on the day, but it was the Bears that made the best use of them.
Despite the loss, Downey still got an impressive performance from Elias Haynes, who rushed for 173 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and also picked up 69 receiving yards.
Vicente Cortez had an outrageously good game for Merced as he rushed for 109 yards and three TDs, and also threw for 140 yards and one touchdown. Those 109 rushing yards gave Cortez a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Cammarri Jackson, who rushed for 55 yards and a pair of scores.
Downey now has a losing record of 1-2. As for Merced, the win (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 3-0.
Looking ahead, Downey will challenge Amador Valley at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. As for Merced, they will get to enjoy the win for a while: their next game is against Madera at 7:00 p.m. on the 19th.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
