The Merritt Academy Mustangs will take on the Dryden Cardinals at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Merritt Academy has three straight victories, Dryden has four straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Last Friday, Merritt Academy took their match at home with ease, bagging a 45-16 win over Akron-Fairgrove. 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. Casper is becoming a predictor of Merritt Academy's success: when he posts at least three passing touchdowns the team is 2-1 (and 2-3 when he doesn't). Caden Siler got in on the action too, returning a kick 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 games.
Meanwhile, a victory for Dryden just wasn't in the cards on Friday as the team wasn't able to take the lead at any point. They lost 62-36 to Kingston. Dryden was in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 38-14.
Merritt Academy's win was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 4-4. As for Dryden, their loss dropped their record down to 3-5.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
