On Friday, Merino faced Akron in a battle between two of the state's top teams. The Merino Rams lost 56-32 to the Akron Rams. The match was a close 22-20 at the break, but unfortunately for Merino it sure didn't stay that way.
Several Rams players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Coen Schmidt, who rushed for 193 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 8.4 yards per carry, and also threw for 281 yards and two touchdowns while completing 72% of his passes. Schmidt was no stranger to the big play, turning on the jets for a run that went for 58 yards. Another player making a difference was Jacob Frank, who gained 156 total yards and two touchdowns.
Even though they lost, Merino was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 312 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 228 rushing yards in three consecutive contests.
Merino didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Josiah Mackintosh and Zavier Trenkle.
It was another big night for Jakzon Livesay, who rushed for 148 yards and three touchdowns on only five carries for Akron. The dominant performance gave Livesay a new career-high in rushing yards. Jace Curtis was another key player, rushing for 76 yards and a touchdown on only nine carries.
Merino's loss ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 4-5. As for Akron, their win was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 8-1.
Merino has already played their next game, a 44-14 defeat against Byers on the 10th. As for Akron, they also wasted no time getting back out on the field and have already played their next matchup, a 46-34 victory against Clear Creek on the 10th.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
