The Dryden Cardinals will square off against the Merritt Academy Mustangs at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Dryden has struggled recently with four defeats in a row, while Merritt Academy will arrive with three straight wins.
Dryden is headed into the game out to prove that what happened against Kingston on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Dryden lost 62-36 to Kingston. Dryden was in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 38-14.
Meanwhile, everything came up roses for Merritt Academy at home against Akron-Fairgrove on Friday as the team secured a 45-16 victory. Considering the Mustangs have won four contests by more than 28 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Anthony Casper was a one-man wrecking crew for Merritt Academy as he threw for 155 yards and three touchdowns on only nine passes, and also rushed for 51 yards. Merritt Academy is 2-1 when Casper posts three or more passing touchdowns, but 2-3 otherwise. Speaking of playmakers, who could forget Caden Siler, who went all the way with a kickoff return for a touchdown.
Merritt Academy wouldn't let Akron-Fairgrove keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force four fumbles. It was truly a group effort as Ethan Wolfe, Jackson Dupuis, Tony Engle, and Michael Lema picked up one apiece. Lema is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made six or more in the last three games he's played dating back to last season.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Merritt Academy was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 212 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 212 rushing yards in three consecutive matches.
Dryden's loss dropped their record down to 3-5. As for Merritt Academy, they pushed their record up to 4-4 with the win, which was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
