Bartow (3-1) at Fort Meade (4-0)
The Yellow Jackets won last seasons meeting 21-12 breaking a seven-game losing streak to the Miners. Fort Meade leads this series 7-3 the past decade. The past three games have been decided by single-digit margins. Fort Meade’s Tyler King is leading Polk County in rushing with 878 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground through the first four games. Bartow’s TJ Harvin is getting the job done with his arm and legs from the QB spot. The local publication picked Bartow by three touchdowns. We thought it would be an instant classic before they decided to pick this outcome–and now? We think someone’s feeling will be hurt by the end of the night. Light. The. Fuse.
Ridge Community (1-2) at Celebration (3-0)
The past two seasons, Celebration has won a combined 4 games. Through the first four weeks of this season, they’re 4-0. Celebration is averaging 299 yards per game rushing–and they’ve given up zero points this season outscoring their opponents 114-0, but in the immortal words of Lee Corso–NOT SO FAST, MY FRIENDS. Those opponents that the Storm have faced are Lake Placid, Poinciana, and East River. In other words, Ohio State thinks that schedule is full of more cupcakes than a bakery. Ridge has Keandre Griner leading the way in rushing for the Bolts along with Yonnie Scott. It’s the Bolts versus the Storm. A meteorologists dream. Light the fuse!
Brooksville Central (2-2) at Weeki Wachee (1-2)
The Bears are playing with heavy hearts in their second district game of the season dealing with the injuries sustained to QB Sebastian Rivera in a motorcycle accident earlier this week. They’ve still got stud RB De’vonta Smith and his 800 yards rushing through the first four games of the season. The Hornets open up district play in conjunction with their Homecoming and if the trend stays the same for them, they will expect to win the game since they’ve gone L/W/L to start the season. The Bears have other plans, but watching Sean O’Gorman battle with Smith for most total yards in the game will be entertaining in and of itself–so light the fuse. (Sidenote: GET WELL SOON SEBASTIAN–we need you back on the field. God Bless.)
Tampa Catholic (3-0) at Clearwater Central Catholic (4-0)
Where do the references begin? Could they have picked a better week to play this game with The Holy See currently in our country? The “Holy War” as some have dubbed this game is as big as it gets this season. CCC has won four of the last five meetings including a 38-0 demolition last year. This year it’s a completely different look from both teams although they’ve started the season as strong as anyone else in the Bay Area. Both teams are averaging over 30 points per game on offense and have defensive playmakers that can turn defense into offense. Pope Francis admonished us to be respectful, to be tolerant and to help one another. Please forgive them your Eminency if they ignore you for three hours this evening. They’ll go back to your message just as soon as the clock hits zero. Now, light the fuse–please and thank you.
Gibbs (2-1) at Countryside (3-1)
In what could be a MACtion game or Memphis-Cincinnati first half in terms of points scored, blink and you might miss Gibbs’ DJ Johnson streaking down the sideline for the Gladiators as his instant offense has helped his squad get out to a fast start on the season and has some folks genuinely expecting them to not only compete–but to win their district based on their play thus far. C’Side will have to contain the speed of this Gibbs team or else things could get dicey, but the Cougars can be a menace once they get into a rhythm of ground-and-pound and play keep-away. This game has all the makings of defensive struggle–even with all of the offense that both can produce. This game just might need an extra couple minutes of overtime to decide the outcome if both play up to standard. The fuse? Yes, light it up.
St. Petersburg (3-1) at Largo (3-1)
The Green Devils have not defeated Largo in five attempts this decade. Their last meeting was in 2008 when the Packers stomped St. Pete 30-0. Things look noticeably different this time around as the ‘Devils made easy work with their ground game against East Lake last week with over 400 yards of rushing. The week before, St. Pete rushed for over 500 yards versus Osceola. Largo’s responded well to their week two loss to East Lake and their young guns could be gaining the confidence they need to continue the streak. The numbers, the rosters and the predictors have St. Pete winning this one with somewhat ease–yeah, bring in Lee Corse just one more time to say that thing again. We think this game has the potential to be just as entertaining as the TC-CCC or Gibbs-Countryside games.
Leesburg (2-2) at Braden River (4-0)
This game brings some intrigue as Leesburg makes their way down from Lake County to face the Pirates. On paper, this should be an easy win for Braden River as they continue to roll through opponents. Although the final score may be closer to what the pundits think will happen, don’t expect the Yellow Jackets to roll over by any means. They’re missing one of their main offensive weapons (Adrian Falconer) who’s playing for Iowa this season, but they’ll test Braden River’s moxie and could make things interesting. So–you know the drill–light that fuse!