THE BOX

Field Goal(s) – 3 points for District 5A-8

Teams:
Anclote
Fivay
Gulf
Hudson
Ridgewood
River Ridge
Wesley Chapel
Zephyrhills

 

Take the S-Train to West Pasco…
Can the Royal Knights remain a royal pain in the you-know-what with their bruising style of ground-and-pound ball? The answer seems to lie in the hands of Chris Schwarz and that band of hogs up front clearing the path. It’s also a fairly easy question to answer if the health and execution are there since we’ve already seen up close and personal what these fellas can do when clicking on all cylinders. Schwarz isn’t the only playmaker on the team by any stretch, but let’s make no mistake about it, River Ridge will feed off the heart and soul that he provides and will steam along according to their plans if they can line-up and smash it down opposing defense’ throats.

So is the district a foregone conclusion already?
Nope. Not even by a longshot. There’s Zephyrhills, who will have to replace some pretty big contributors from last year, but if they can find a way to get the ball in the hands of WR Jackie Tucker early-and-often that could take some pressure off the guys simply needing some experience to match their talent. Then there’s Hudson. The Cobras just might spoil the party if they can continue to develop their potential to put up points with an offense that already gets it done on the ground, but have a nice option at the QB spot in Justin Griffin that’s big (6-4/215) and can sling it around a little bit. Hudson gets the services of RB’s Billy Werner and Nate Munson back that combined for over 1,700 yards and 15 TD’s last season along with stud OL Grayson Stover clearing a path. Munson’s 130 tackles on defense also help the Cobras’ cause when it comes to time to get some stops. Pay very close attention to this squad or run the risk of getting snake bit.

Put on your best outfits for primetime TV…
And speaking of Hudson and Z-Hills, the two will face off the first Friday in October as part of BHSN’s Game of the Week. This game is just one of three crucial match-ups that will take place between the 25th of September and the 16th of October. The week before they face the Bulldogs, Hudson will host River Ridge so the outcome of this game is likely to give us a VERY clear picture of who’s in the drivers seat for the postseason. The River Ridge at Zephyrhills game on the 16th should end up being in an elimination game for someone, just who will that someone be though?