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Spoto defenders stop Hillsborough near the goal line.

South Shore teams look for rebound Oct. 23

Longhorns licking chops for Hornets visit

By STEPHEN JACKSON

Gridiron victories were as hard to come by for South Shore teams as a snowflake in Disneyland last week. Only Sumner High varsity registered a win, putting a 55-0 whipping on the East Bay JV. Sustaining lopsided losses were East Bay varsity, 53-21, to Wiregrass Ranch, Spoto, 62-0, to Hillsborough Terriers, and Riverview Sharks, 49-3, to Riverview Rams of Sarasota. The Lennard Longhorns dropped a hard-fought decision, 42 -22, to Ridge Community in Davenport.

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Spoto Spartans Head Coach Alfred Smith roams the sidelines in loss last week to Hillsborough Terriers.

All are looking for better outcomes Oct. 23 at 7:30 pm. Riverview, 1-4, hosts 3-3 Ridge Community. The Sharks, reeling from three straight defeats under Coach William Mosel, face the visitors from Davenport. A cinch to snap a 3-game losing streak, the Lennard Longhorns have the softest touch of the week. The hapless Haines City Hornets bring a 0-6 record to Ruskin. Haines City’s record is ugly, including a typical 82-0 loss to Lake Gibson last week. Spoto Coach Alfred Smith takes his 3-3 Spartans to Tampa to face 2-3 Middleton. Then King High visits Spoto’s Riverview campus Oct. 30. Coach Frank LaRosa’s EB Indians brace themselves for a tough closing agenda. Next up for EB is a visit to Tampa to face 4-1 Jefferson. Then Armwood brings its aerial circus to East Bay before the Indians end the regular season Nov. 6 with Chamberlain at home. Sumner varsity has another JV date Oct. 22 with the Lennard “little Longhorns” in Ruskin. Coach Ashwood’s Stingrays, on the road, then close out a remarkable season with the winless Brandon varsity.

Lennard runs out of gas in Davenport

On a perfect night for Florida Friday Night Under The Lights, Lennard could not summon the final push to overcome Ridge Community. Few fans from Ruskin attended due to the 80 mile, 1 ½ hour trek to Davenport, in Polk County, halfway between Lakeland and Orlando.

After falling behind 14-0 in the first half, the Longhorns, under interim coach Khris Ramsey, put together a scoring drive balanced with the passing of junior QB Gavin Henley and running of co-captain and senior Amarie Jones. Midway through the second quarter, Lennard did not fold, following up with an impressive drive with a mixture of Henley throws and wildcat runs with Amarie Jones. Henley found his favorite target, sure-handed soph Elijah Singleton, on 4th and long for a 32-yard TD pass and catch. The fake extra point was good with a crafty pass from holder co-captain Dax Corr to Amarie Jones to make it 14-8, and Ridge Community knew a battle was brewing.

Ridge Community’s Beau Herrington responded like a lightning bolt on the very next offensive play with a 76-yard scoring strike to push RC out to a 21-8 lead. On an offensive drive before intermission, Lennard got a break on a roughing the punter call on the Bolts. A rapid drive, riding Henley’s arm, led to running back Jakhi Davis’ 5-yard score. The extra made it 21-15. RC intercepted a desperation Hail Mary at the end of the first half.

The teams traded TDs in the third quarter. A Henley 23-yard strike to junior Ha’keem Monroe set up a 2-yard dive into the end zone by Chauncey Jones to bring the Longhorns to a tantalizing 28-22, heading to the final stanza.

At this point, the veritable unstoppable Herrington polished off the Longhorns with his fourth and fifth TDs of night. A controversial fourth down and inches possession call went against Lennard. The game ended 42-22, making for a long, somber bus drive back to Ruskin.

PHOTO BY Rich & Company Florida LLC / 727-351-2243
Riverview Sharks’ kicker #81, Cody Szelc, boots a field goal for the only score in their favor.