South Shore eyes playoffs as regular season ends

By STEVE JACKSON

The South Shore fall weather last Friday evening seemed to be ordered by the local chambers of commerce. Brisk, dry and, as the sun set, a perfect Florida high school football evening for a light jacket or sweater and, perhaps, a mask.

Around the South Shore area gridiron venues, only the Lennard Longhorns dispatched the home crowd happy and content. Lennard scored early and often to claim a brutal grudge match 38-14 over visiting neighbor Riverview High.

Spoto and East Bay both dropped one-possession games at home. The 3-5 Spartans fell to 5-3 King of Tampa. Now, after last week’s 16-12 loss, Coach Alfred Smith’s Spoto Spartans have an off week to provide time to prepare for a Nov. 13 playoff game with powerful 7-1 Lake Gibson High of Lakeland, a 48–0 winner over Kathleen last Friday. East Bay made it a nailbiter before barely succumbing 14-13 to 6-2 East Lake of Tarpon Springs. Coach Frank LaRosa’s 2-5 Indians face the unenviable task of traveling to Tampa Nov. 6 to face 4-3 Chamberlain, fresh off a 45-0 massacre of Robinson. East Bay will attempt to prolong its season in a Nov. 13 playoff match with 4-2 Pinellas Park High in Largo.

Lennard, with a 4-3 worksheet, ends its regular season in Ruskin Nov. 6 with 3-4 Middleton. Coach Khris Ramsey’s Horns drew a playoff bye and have a win-or-go-home date on Nov. 20 with the winner of Riverview Sarasota versus Plant. This will most likely be Longhorn nemesis Riverview Rams in Sarasota. The Rams already own a 49-26 whipping of Lennard earlier this season.

Coach William Mosel’s Sharks continue to deal with a tough schedule as the regular season ends and the playoffs start. Riverview heads to Tampa Nov. 6 to tackle 4-3 Tampa Bay Tech. The surprising Wharton Wildcats await the Sharks Nov. 13 in the 8A-Region 4 playoff.

Lennard wins second straight, stampeding Riverview 38-14

Lennard shot out to a 28-7 first half lead and held on for a convincing 38-14 thrashing of rival Riverview Sharks who dwindled to 1-6.

Emotions and adrenalin ran high on the field during both teams’ first possession. The Sharks got an early break and offensive boost when refs called an unsportsmanlike dead-ball penalty against the Horns. This advantage disintegrated quickly when Lennard’s Jahki Davis walloped a Shark ball carrier, separating him from the ball. On the spot, teammate Marcus Carn claimed the available pigskin at the Longhorns 10-yard line. Horns running back Amarie Jones knew what to do from there. The senior co-captain shocked the Sharks, galloping 90 yards up the middle for the first score of the night. Anthony Loschiavo’s PAT was on the money, and Lennard would never trail with 7:12 remaining in the opening stanza.

The Sharks went 3 and out on the ensuing kickoff. Back on offense, Lennard drove the field, led by rushes from Chauncey Jones and QB Gavin Henley. The drive ended with a Henley fade-toss to big receiver Ha’Keem Monroe for the first of his two TD receptions. Lennard was now up 14-0 with 2:36 left in the first quarter.

Riverview did not fade quietly into the beautiful night. The Sharks finally exhibited some offensive bite. An 11-play drive was highlighted by a 33-yard fifty-fifty ball reception by Sharks stalwart Kadeem Robinson. Robinson put the finishing touches on his heroics with a TD run between the tackles. The Sharks had new life and optimism, trailing only 14-7 with 8:30 left in the half.

Lennard rapidly scuttled Riverview’s aspirations with a sudden 30-yard TD catch, courtesy of Henley to Monroe. Lennard pushed its lead to 21-7 with 7:29 left in the first half. And the Horns were not finished! After another three and out perpetrated by Lennard’s rejuvenated defense, Amarie Jones took the handoff, bounced outside and blazed untouched for a 72-yard TD scamper. All of a sudden, the deflated Sharks were down 28-7. The Horns got the ball back and drove the field on a time-consuming 18-play drive but fell short of breaking the plane, getting the ball all the way to the Sharks 1-yard line. Close but no cigar!

The Sharks came out behind 28-7 after halftime, motivated for a comeback, but a promising offensive drive ended with a narrowly-missed 40-yard field goal attempt.

The Horns responded again. This time on the ground with chunk runs by DJ Kellman. Kellman found paydirt with a 14-yard TD run, 14 of his 126 yards of the night. That made it 35-7 Horns with 5:29 left in the third quarter. Spunky Riverview mustered one more TD, but it was not nearly enough as the Horns Darius Frazier intercepted a pass to quell any Sharks’ fantasy of a miraculous comeback. A Lennard add-on came with a 4th quarter 22-yard FG by Anthony Loschiavo.

The Sharks had the bad luck of running into the Horns best defensive performance of the season. Lennard’s big D was led by Jacob Treese with four quarterback hurries and six total tackles. The behemoth Jhalin Hobbs chipped in with a sack and three QB hurries.

Sumner pummels Brandon to close stellar first grid season

By FRANCIS FEDOR

francisfotography@outlook.com

The Sumner High School Stingrays, of Coach Alonzo Ashwood, concluded a very successful 7-win inaugural season with a 39-0 victory at Brandon HS in a varsity match-up. The incredible football season for the Stingrays was even more remarkable as the Rays competed in a mostly varsity schedule without any seniors on the Sumner varsity roster.

Sumner is a brand new high school in Riverview. The Stingrays completed an 8-game schedule, with the last four games of the season being shutouts. Brandon, on the other hand, continues to be an inept mystery team. The once-venerable Eagles finished 0-8 and only scored 6 points the entire season. The hapless Eagles also went 0-10 last season and 1-9 in 2018. Brandon’s last winning season was 9-3 in 2015. Brandon High School is one of the oldest in Hillsborough County, having opened in 1914.

The Stingrays opened the scoring against the Eagles last week with the defense forcing a fumble and returning it for the opening touchdown. Kenoi Denny then scored three consecutive TDs: a 24-yard run, a 2-yard run, and the third on a scoop-and-score fumble recovery. Kenoi finished the game with 104 yards rushing. The Stingrays completed the scoring with two fourth quarter scores: a Justin Mitchell 28-yard run and a Devin Spencer 5-yard run. Sumner finished the game with 272 total offensive yards, 256 of those coming on the ground. The Stingray defense forced three fumbles and one interception.

Sumner will return to football in the fall of 2021 and field a squad that will be even more formidable as every member of the Stingray squad will have this very successful season as a base for the team’s future success. A sense of pride should go out to every Sumner coach, player, and parent for the work that was put in to build a very competitive squad. Congratulations goes out to Sumner High School. Great work!