Jesuit at Dunedin

Best Match up: Jesuit is averaging 31.2 ppg this season. Dunedin is allowing a little over 25 ppg in six games, but has held its past two opponents — Gibbs and Spoto — to a combined 20 points. Can the Falcons defense stop the high-powered Tigers offense?

Keep eyes on: Tommy Eveld didn’t play much in last week’s 78-0 rout of Lennard with seven different runners scoring nine touchdowns. Eveld completed 8-of-13 passes for 138 yards and was resting on the sidelines before the middle of the second quarter. Expect the senior quarterback to get plenty of reps in to help the Tigers get ready for next week’s big showdown at district foe Lakewood.

Who has to be stop: The aforementioned Eveld must be pressured if the Falcons want any chance of beating the No. 5-ranked team in Class 5A of the most recent Associated Press Florida high school sports rankings. They put the heat on Gibbs a couple weeks ago, but the Gladiators were a bit banged up.

Alonso at Plant City
Best match up: Maybe they’re not going head-to-head technically, but Brandon Holloway vs. Dazmond Patterson is as good as it gets. Through 5 games they’ve totaled 935 yards and 13 TD’s. Speed kills.

Keep Eyes On: We all know the big names, but watch out for Alonso LB Marcus Neuman. He anchors a LB Corps that could give PC’s passing game fits if they can disrupt crossing routes and clog the holes the Patterson will be looking to run through.

Who has to be stopped: This is going to sound stranger than a bigfoot sighting, but it’s not Bennie Coney. Or at least not him entirely. How about an entire unit needing to be stopped? The Alonso DL must keep the Plant City OL from controlling the line of scrimmage.

Sickles at Hillsborough
Best Match up: In the trenches. Offensive lines versus defensive lines. Sickles averages 200+ ypg rushing. Hillsborough is averaging 180+ ypg on the ground. Something has to give.

Keep eyes on: Evan Jennings. Leads Hillsborough with 14 catches for 225 yards. Look for Hillsborough to go to the pass early to open up the running game.

Who has to be stopped: If Sickles is to win this game it must first stop the Agrinzonis to Jennings connection. Jennings had 7 catches for 135 yards and 3 TD versus Jefferson and then Hillsborough suffocated the Dragons with the run. Expect the same game plan tonight.

Freedom at Wharton
Best match up: Wharton’s O-Line vs. Freedom’s D-Line

Keep eyes on: Vernon Hargreaves Jr. is a tremendous athlete with playmaker ability.

Who has to be stopped: Freedom’s defense must stop or contain Wharton RB Darius Paige.

Steinbrenner at Riverview
Best match up: Steinbrenner running backs Kendall Pearcey and Nick Green vs. Sharks defensive line.
With Jake Carroll out for the season with a torn ACL, the Warriors will need to establish the running game early to take the pressure off of mistake prone quarterback Curtis Fitch.

Keep eyes on: Kendall Pearcey, Steinbrenner running back. Pearcey will get more carries now with Carroll’s injury and could see his already high yards-per-game sky rocket.

Who has to be stopped: Riverview running back Steven Maines

Strawberry Crest at Armwood
Best match up: Not real sure there is a real good match up. If we had to pick, we’d say Strawberry Crest QB Trey Vandergrift vs. the Armwood secondary. Will Vandergrift show any signs of promise vs. a stiff pass rush and swarming Armwood secondary?

Keep eyes on: Alvin Bailey!!! He has been as productive as any player in the Tampa Bay Area this season. Playing a variety of different positions and making defenses pay.

Who has to be stopped: Alvin Bailey! Simple.

Palm Harbor at Tarpon Springs
Best Match up: Pavlock vs Pappas, which QB will outshine the other. This could be a shoot out as Tarpon has shown a penchant to score a lot of points even in loss. Which defense will come up with a key stop to turn the tide?

Keep an Eye on: Kenny Blanch, Blanch starred for Palm Harbor the last 2 season but transferred this offseason after disputes with the new coaching staff. He is now a key cog in the Sponger offense and will be playing inspired ball against his former team.

Who has to be stopped: The running game with Ryan Myers and Billy Pavlock. They need to force Pavlock to win it in the air.

a few quick facts for this week’s match ups……

The Brandon/Plant series is tied at 11-11-1   Last game 2002
Leto leads Bloomingdale 6-4                        Last game 2010
Gaither leads East Bay 4-1                         Last game 1992
Hillsborough leads Sickles 2-0                     Last game 2004
Robinson leads Gibbs 2-0                           Last game 1992
Dunedin leads Jesuit 3-2                            Last game 1974
King leads Jefferson 14-6                           Last game 1990