Saint Stephen’s Falcons (5-0) vs. Santa Fe Catholic Crimson Hawks (5-0)
It’s a battle for supremacy in the Sunshine State Athletic Conference’ Coral Bay Division and quite frankly–it’s supremacy for the entire state within the SSAC. It’s just the second meeting ever between the two schools. The Falcons are coming off a 28-0 shutout of Bishop McLaughlin while Santa Fe essentially had a bye-week following their forfeit victory over Canterbury. For the visitors from Bradenton, it’s all about sophomore ATH Fred Billy who’s paced the Falcons with 848 yards on the ground and through the air with 17 touchdowns. The Crimson Hawks have some firepower on offense with QB Walker Richards completing 62-percent of his passes with 10 touchdowns and no interceptions through the first five games. Running backs Damario Vanover and Tyree Rodman have combined for over 500 yards on the ground while wide receivers Henry Perry (2nd in Polk County in receiving) and Kenard King have produced nine touchdowns for Santa Fe. Something’s got to give in this battle of undefeated’s–LIGHT THAT FUSE!
Northside Christian Mustangs (5-0) vs. Carrollwood Day School Patriots (5-0)
Another battle of undefeated teams bless us with their presence up in Carrollwood this evening with plenty on the line even IF this isn’t a district contest. Both teams are coming off of bye weeks–NCS thumped Bradenton Christian 65-15 and CDS dispatched Jordan Christian Prep 39-0 on the 25th of September. The two coaches–Mike Alstott and Lane Mclaughlin are worth the price of admission alone–but if you’re there for the football–keep your eyes peeled for the Patriots’ Yashin Wooten who leads CDS in rushing this season. When the Mustangs have the ball, it’s been all-about QB Griffin Alstott’s contributions averaging 161 yards per game on the ground and air. NCS defeated the Pats 32-14 last season ending a 3-game losing streak in the series. The Mustangs have a huge-HUGE game at Indian Rocks Christian next week in-district, but they won’t be looking ahead in this battle for 2A bragging rights. LIGHT THE FUSE!
Largo Packers (5-1) vs. Countryside Cougars (5-1)
Both teams are coming off big district wins last week. Largo crushed Boca Ciega 47-0, while Countryside squeaked-out a win in OT over Pinellas Park, 31-30. The Packers have won three-straight in the series including their 27-20 victory over C’Side and lead the series the last decade 6-3. Both teams are averaging a bunch of points on offense–but with contrasting styles of sorts. The Packers are averaging just shy of 300 yards per game with more than half of that on the ground. The Cougars are well-balanced averaging nearly 400 yards of offense and with nearly even splits rushing and passing. So…naturally this game will come down to offense, right? Not so fast–both teams have the ability to choke-slam opponents with their physical defenses and this could be a war of attrition. LIGHT THAT FUSE!
Steinbrenner Warriors (5-1, 2-1) vs. Newsome Wolves (3-3, 1-2)
Apparently–this is the first meeting between the two schools–which is hard to believe–but keep in mind Steinbrenner just played their first ten-game season in 2010. It’s a huge 8A-6 game for the Wolves, who sit tied for 5th while the Warriors are still sitting in the second playoff spot–although tied with PHU–even after their 52-17 loss to Manatee last week. The Warriors are averaging over 300 yards of offense with good balance between pass and run–but the Wolves are doing what they do best–and that’s pound the rock in their Wing-T. The Wolves are averaging 264 yards per game rushing, but will have to face the strength of Steinbrenner’s Defense–which is up the middle to meet that average. Can the Wolves make it happen? LIGHT THAT FUSE!
Lennard Longhorns (5-0, 2-0) vs. East Bay Indians (3-3, 0-2)
District 7A-9 is on-and-poppin’ with what’s essentially an elimination game for the Indians. You only need to go one exit up I-75 to reach East Bay from Ruskin–so the less than six miles difference should make for an electric atmosphere on top of what could be a fantastic old-school-black-and-blue process till the scoreboard reaches zeroes on the clock. The ‘Horns are averaging 388 yards of offense and are pretty balanced in doing so while the Indians are true to form under Head Coach Frank LaRosa and chewing up yardage on the ground to the tune of over 200 yards per week. East Bay leads the series 3-2 the last five games in the series, but the ‘Horns scalped East Bay last year 28-7. Lennard was caught in a dogfight with Strawberry Crest last week needing to comeback from a 2TD deficit. Were they looking ahead to their rivals? We shall see, but in the meantime–LIGHT THAT FUSE!