The Branham Bruins are taking a road trip to square off against the Live Oak Acorns at 7:15 p.m. on Friday. Branham is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 30.3 points per game this season.
Last Friday, Branham was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 34-28 to Santa Teresa.
Despite the defeat, Branham got top-tier performance from Michael Murphy, who rushed for 77 yards and two touchdowns. Branham also got a significant boost from Richard Martin, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 115 yards.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Branham was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 206 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 160 rushing yards in three consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, Live Oak unfortunately witnessed the end of their three-game winning streak on Friday. They and Santa Teresa were almost perfectly matched up, but Live Oak suffered a 17-16 loss.
Branham's record is now 4-3. As for Live Oak, their record now sits at 3-5.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's game: Branham has been excellent in the air this season, having averaged 298.5 passing yards per game. It's a different story for Live Oak, though, as they've been averaging only 89.1. How will they fare against such a dominant passing game?
Branham suffered a grim 42-21 defeat to Live Oak in their previous meeting back in September of 2023. Thankfully for Branham, Josh Gagni (who rushed for 281 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 14.1 yards per carry) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
