The Melbourne Bulldogs will venture away from home to challenge the Osceola Kowboys at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Melbourne will be hoping to continue their four-game streak of scoring more points each contest than the last.
Melbourne is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They blew past Palm Bay 31-0 at home on Friday. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest win of the season.
The critical scores for Melbourne came from Carter Black and Wyatt Votava.
Melbourne was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 275 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 173 rushing yards in five consecutive games.
Melbourne's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. The picks came courtesy of Votava and Jerel Patrick. Votava is also crushing it when it comes to total tackles: he's made at least nine every time he's taken the field this season. Jason Melidor was another major factor on D, picking up 1.5 sacks and making seven total tackles (2.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, Osceola has relied on a stalwart defense averaging 15.6 points allowed per game, but that average took a hit on Thursday. They fell to Jones 34-28. The Kowboys haven't had much luck with the Fightin' Tigers recently, as the team's come up short the last two times they've met.
Osceola might have lost, but man, Taevion Swint was a machine: he rushed for 112 yards and two touchdowns.
Even if they lost, Osceola's defensive line still kept up the pressure with eight sacks. Joshua Alamo was particularly dangerous to the passing game, picking up threehimself. Another thorn in Jones' side was Jakyri Watson, who made 12 total tackles and defended five passes.
Melbourne now has a winning record of 3-2. As for Osceola, their defeat dropped their record down to an identical 3-2.
Friday's match might be decided in the on the ground. Melbourne has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 229.4 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Osceola struggles in that department as they've been averaging 236.8. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more football content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps