Merced ready to face Madera QB who almost threw for 600 yards against Bears last year.

The Merced High football team outlasted Downey 47-44 in a high-powered shootout last week to remain unbeaten this season at 3-0.

The Bears won’t get to rest because up next on Friday night is undefeated Madera (3-0) and quarterback Colton Nelson at Veterans Stadium.

You can expect a lot of points again this week as the Governor’s Hat is up for grabs.

Nelson definitely has Merced’s attention.

The senior completed 31 of 54 passes for 585 yards and six touchdowns in the Coyotes’ 48-42 victory over Merced last year.

“(Madera) doesn’t have updated stats (on MaxPreps), but watching him on film, he’s tearing it up,” said Bears coach Rob Scheidt. “We don’t expect anything but his best on Friday.”

It’s back-to-back weeks of playing a high-powered offense after surviving Downey last week.

“It’s the way the schedule ended up,” Scheidt said. “I don’t think we’re going to see any team as prolific than these two teams the rest of the way.”

Merced has scored 139 points in three wins over Del Campo, Gregori and Downey.

The Bears racked up 573 yards of total offense against the Knights last week with Dhameer Warren and Junior Garcia combining for 277 passing yards. Warren also ran for 172 yards and two touchdowns as Merced added 296 yards on the ground.

“Everyone gets caught up in the numbers, but it was our defense’s ability to get stops and takeaways that ultimately delivered the win,” Scheidt said. “In that type of shootout, you can look back to possessions in the second and third quarter that helped determine the game.”

Pacheco and Atwater will feature some explosive runners

Speaking of high-powered offenses, the Falcons put on quite the show in a 60-36 win over Davis last week. Atwater had three players eclipse the 100-yard mark on the ground in Charles Jackson (155 rushing yards, 2 touchdowns), Isaiah Deleon (116 rushing yards, 2 TDs) and Jose Bautista (115 rushing yards).

The Falcons finished with 693 yards of total offense.

Atwater (2-1) travels to Los Banos to face Pacheco (2-0) on Friday night.

The Panthers almost had three runners top 100 yards in last week’s 36-14 win over Sierra. Ronnie Garcia (144 yards and 2 TDs) and Julien Moran (113 yards) both topped the century mark and quarterback Marcus Ordunez finished with 94 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

Big bounce-back week for Buhach Colony

League plays begins next week in the Central California Conference and the Thunder have a big conference opener against Patterson (2-1) at home.

Buhach Colony wiped up the wounds of a 62-24 loss to Tracy on Oct. 24 and looked good in a 42-24 win over Edison in Stockton last week.

Quarterback Brandon Ruiz was able to throw for 181 yards and two touchdowns to help balance what has been a strong running game from the Thunder in the first three weeks. Buhach Colony rushed for 288 yards and three touchdowns against the Tigers.

This story was originally published September 6, 2018 at 1:02 PM with the headline "Merced ready to face Madera QB who almost threw for 600 yards against Bears last year.."