Palm Bay was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their fifth straight loss. They took a blow against the Merritt Island Mustangs, falling 41-2. While losing is never fun, the Pirates can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida football rankings (they are ranked 327th, while the Mustangs are ranked 136th).
Merritt Island's victory 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. The team also got some help courtesy of Shaun Hartman Jr, who threw for 110 yards and two touchdowns.
Palm Bay's defeat dropped their record down to 0-4. As for Merritt Island, they pushed their record up to 3-1 with that win, which was their third straight on the road.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Palm Bay will head out to challenge Melbourne at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Melbourne will be hoping to continue their three-game streak of scoring more points each matchup than the last. As for Merritt Island, they will head out on the road to face off against St. Cloud at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
