Land O’ Lakes, August 30, 2019- Friday football fever; its game day people. There have been some changes in regards to kickoff times around the state recently, but as of now, the Sunlake Seahawks (0-1) are set to take on the Pasco Pirates (1-0) later tonight at 7:30 p.m. Let’s break down a handful of brief factors not to be ignored from this matchup, as week two of regular season ball commences.

1. Rushing Real Estate- The Pirates moved the chains an ample amount with their ground game against Land O’ Lakes last week. Pasco amassed 314 rushing yards to be exact, while only totaling 34 receiving yards. ‘If it ain’t broke don’t fix it’, so expect to see them steal some of the show with featured junior running back Malcolm Gibbs (123 yards on 9 carries last week per MaxPreps) and company at their fingertips.

2. Defense Wins Championships- Although week one didn’t pan out in Sunlake’s favor overall, the Seahawks’ defense put up a valiant effort. The team posted 67 total tackles, 6 TFLs, and a sack. Sophomore Jayden Davis at the forefront, totaling 16 tackles (11 solo and 2 TFLs). The Pirate’s defensive backfield was busy too, totaling 35 tackles, defended 16 passes, had an interception, and 3 forced fumbles. Neither team accumulated more than 40 passing yards, so Sunlake’s front seven has to plug up the rushing holes early on to let their offense get in the swing of things and try to push the ball through Pirate territory steadily.

3. Winning Momentum- As mentioned earlier, the Pirates will be all gas no brakes going into this week’s matchup, as they come off a rewarding first win. Now, they will be helmet-to-helmet against first-year head coach Trey Burdick and his youthful squad, who knocked the rust off with a week one blow-out loss. Good a time as any to get the L out of the way with a little reality check early but the energy shift is not necessarily in their favor. Interesting game to see when a confident, run-heavy Pasco team meets a scrappy and hungry Sunlake group.

Sunlake has an away, non-conference faceoff with Pasco today; kickoff at 7:30p. Sell out those booths fans!

Vaughan Sixbury, BCP Contributor