The Merritt Island Mustangs will venture away from home to take on the St. Cloud Bulldogs at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Merritt Island will be strutting in after a win while St. Cloud will be coming in after a loss.
Merritt Island is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They blew past Palm Bay, posting a 41-2 victory on the road. Given the Mustangs' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida football rankings (they are ranked 136th, while the Pirates are ranked 327th), the result on Friday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Merritt Island's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Kevin Verpaele, who threw for 212 yards and a touchdown on only 11 passes. Another passer making a difference was Shaun Hartman Jr, who threw for 110 yards and two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, St. Cloud was beaten by Osceola 56-6 on Friday. The Bulldogs have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
The losing side was boosted by Logan King, who threw for 267 yards and a touchdown. A healthy portion of that aerial production (95 yards to be exact) went to Alexander Springs.
Merritt Island pushed their record up to 3-1 with that victory, which was their third straight on the road. As for St. Cloud, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-2.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the trenches. Merritt Island has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 148.8 rushing yards per game. It's a different story for St. Cloud, though, as they've been averaging only 53.8. How will they fare against such a dominant running game? 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
