The Crusaders and the Marauders as teams promise to give us plenty to talk about on the field this Friday. They both have plenty of prospects that have made their way through the camps in the offseason and those prospects have not disappointed to say the least through their initial games on the season. Both teams are averaging over 30 points on offense and are getting it done on defense.
The Marauders apparently aren’t skipping a beat on offense and have used a balanced rushing attack and solid quarterback play thanks to a quartet of ballers–all from the Class of 2017. Quarterback Jakob Parks (6-3/195) along with a trio of running backs Jervon Newton (5-10/185), CJ Cottman (5-10/170), and Rashaad Stewart (6-1/175) have given CCC’s fans and staff tons of reasons to feel ecstatic about the future as they’ve rocketed to a 4-0 record.
Parks stands tall in the pocket and has completed 64-percent of his passes for 617 yards good for an average of 154.3 yards per game and most importantly has thrown zero interceptions through the first four games to five touchdowns. CCC is averaging over 200 yards per game on the ground thanks to the aforementioned balanced rushing attack. Newton and Stewart have very similar stat lines–Newton has carried the ball 44 times for 249 yards and two touchdowns, while Stewart has toted the rock 33 times for 245 yards and two touchdowns. Cottman’s four touchdowns leads the trio while gaining 216 yards on 17 carries.
Tampa Catholic’s admittedly in possession of “household” names like Nate Craig-Myers and Devan Barrett, but one of the quarterbacks that has worked his butt off during the past two summers has finally found a landing spot and it’s paying dividends. QB Austin Sessums (6-foot, 172) from the Class of 2017 is benefitting from the multi-starred talent that surrounds him and taking advantage of anscheme that sets him up for much success and the numbers bare witness. Sessums has started off the season red-hot completing 75-percent of his passes (41-of-55) for 675 yards good for an average of 225 yards per game. His 7-to-1 touchdowns to interceptions ratio is also quite impressive.
The Crusaders are getting it done with balance much like CCC, but with a few more yards in the bank. Through three games, Tampa Catholic is averaging 476 yards in total with a split of 251 on the ground and 225 through the air. Devan Barrett, the #1-ranked prospect on BCP’s Class of 2017 list has racked 594 yards on just 46 carries and six touchdowns while they’ve remained undefeated. Tight End Noah Carlson (6-foot-5, 206-pounds) is an MVP from over the summer and following his breakout against Lakewood Ranch two weeks ago has put up some excellent numbers–catching 9 passes for 147 yards and a touchdown.
Another prominent BCP camper throughout his career, cornerback/return specialist Bentlee Sanders is also putting in some solid production. The 5-foot-9, 180-pound member of the Class of 2017 has 20 tackles, two pass deflections, a fumble-caused and 162 yards on the season returning kicks.
Oh–and let’s not forget about Craig-Myers before we leave you since he’s been doing-what-he-does catching 18 passes for 273 yards and four touchdowns. He and Barrett have combined for eleven of TC’s fourteen touchdowns this season. Perhaps Craig-Myers’ biggest contribution is his three interceptions for the Crusaders.