By STEVE JACKSON
Four of the five high school football teams in the South Shore won last Friday night. The marquee game on tap for this week is a Thursday clash of early-season unbeatens: East Bay at Riverview. The other three squads are all on the road.
Powerhouse Sumner treks to battle 1-1 Gaither. Lennard, 2-1, buses up to Steinbrenner High in Lutz. Spoto High is looking for its initial victory versus King High in Tampa. All gridiron games this week are on Thursday, Sept. 14 at 7 p.m. due to Sept. 15 being a Jewish holiday.
The Sharks of Head Coach Tony Gonzalez have combined the offensive prowess of two talented seniors, quarterback Aaron Turner and running back Dino Shoats, along with a swarming team defense to post a perfect 3-0 record. Riverview whipped Chamberlain 49-3 last week in Tampa. The Sharks scored 14 in the opening quarter and added 21 more to make it an insurmountable 35 -3 at halftime. Riverview added 7 in the third and in the fourth quarters against outmatched Chamberlain.
Riverview QB Turner hit 15 or 19 pass attempts for 203 yards and three scores. Turner also picked up 62 rushing yards on six carries plus a TD. Backfield mate Shoats rushed for 29 yards on five totes. Shoats scored once. Junior running back Andrew Lee also rushed for a touchdown and 29 yards on five attempts. Senior Johnny Mathis hauled in a pair of Turner aerials for touchdowns. Junior Warren Shriver hit seven for seven on PAT boots. On the season, Riverview has tallied 136 points and yielded 3. Almost every defensive Sharks player was in on at least one tackle. Leading the way were senior Xavier Rivers and junior Randall L. Guzman Jr. who banged a fumble out of Chamberlain. Also combining for a sack were Ronald Blake and Adrian Zalduonda of the swarming Sharks defense.
East Bay Head Coach Mike Gottman is rebuilding, or reloading, last year’s stellar Indians 10-2 squad with junior quarterback William Boyd throwing only seven times against Sickles and completing four for 89 yards. Boyd also ran seven times against Sickles, gaining five and scoring a TD. Rushing support is provided by tough senior Jaelin Sneed who produced a pair of TDs on 15 carries for 157 yards to outscore Sickles. Senior Izaiah Ketchup provides some backup. Ketchup rushed twice for 12 yards and snared two passes for 19 yards in the Sickles game. Following a big breakout game in the season opener, junior Anthony Laurent carried the pigskin eight times for 80 yards versus Sickles. Senior receiver 5-10 Jose Hernandez also grabbed a pass for 53 yards. On the other side of the ball, Jamal Platts was selected Player of the Game by the Indians coaches for his work on the defensive line and at offensive guard. The Indians continue to receive big plays from defensive back senior Miles Thompson. Boosting the victory over 1-2 Sickles, Thompson added a 99-yard kickoff return. EB senior Kaydien Saul kicked four of four PATs and banged home a 38-yard field goal.
The Lennard Longhorns, playing out of Ruskin, claimed their second win of the young season last week to move their 2023 record to 2-1 after suffering a 1-9 mark last season.
According to new Horns head coach KD Belton, “This Middleton game was a true test of our focus and will.”
The Middleton battle started on a bad note in Tampa, with two Tiger interceptions, both coming off batted passes at the line of scrimmage. One of these interceptions was taken back for a touchdown as Middleton struck first with a pick 6. Lennard came back with a 40-yard field goal from Aiden Gibbons. Middleton then took a punt back for a touchdown. Lennard ended the half with a 37-yard field goal from Gibbons. Half time score was 13-6 Middleton. Down 13-6 at half, Lennard reeled off 21 unanswered points in the second half to double up last year’s win total for the new Horns coaching staff led by Coach Belton.
Lennard came out in the second half with the ball and punched it in from 10 yards out on a senior Amari Sampson rush. The tying PAT was kicked good by Gibbons. Lennard defense then turned up the juice and turned over Middleton on a Dominic Smith interception. That led to Lennard’s Jacob Mobley 3-yard QB sneak for a TD. Again Gibbons socked home the PAT and the Horns headed the Tigers 20-13. Lennard’s D again turned over Middleton with a fumble recovery. This set up a 35-yard TD jaunt by Sampson, with another PAT by Gibbons.
The Horns turned it over to their defense, forcing another Middleton fumble to gain the 27-13 victory.
Lennard’s Sampson rushed for 110 yards and two scores. Sampson is the first 100-yard rusher for Lennard since premier ex-running back Tino Hunt turned the trick in 2019. For the Horns defense, it was the first shutout since winning over Haines City in 2020.
Lennard’s Thursday evening foe is 0-3 Steinbrenner. Coach Belton is warning his Horns squad the 0-3 Warriors in Lutz this Thursday will be “tough and physical.” On Sept. 22, an even tougher squad,unbeaten-so-far Durant High, comes to Ruskin for an even tougher tussle.
The Spoto Spartans look to put an end to this season’s three-game losing streak this Thursday with King High in Tampa. Spoto Coach Keith Chattin has his Spartans playing pretty good offense, but not quite good enough to secure a victory in its 0-3 campaign. That could and should change this week against a 0-3 King squad.
Lennard Longhorns Football Facebook Photo
Lennard Longhorns celebrate a win.
Spoto has been receiving adequate offense from sophomore quarterback 5-11 225 lb. Nathan Richardson. Slender and swift receiver junior Z’orey Cotton has piled up 411 pass receiving yards with four TDs and a two-point conversion from Richardson. Sophomore 6-3 162 pound receiver Jesse Harden has also shown a penchant for grabbing Richardson passes, compiling 406 air yards and four scores on the season.
Senior 5-9 170 lb. Isaiah Turner has gained 181 yards on kickoff returns. Junior Cam White has added 167 yards total rushing. QB Richardson also has respectable offensive season stats, 128 yards on the ground and 948 in the air.
Defensively, Spoto has been relying on junior Jaedyn Cartwright and soph Elijah Vega. Spartans aiding on defense have been big senior 6-2 340 lb.D’Vontaye Pumphrey, senior Justin Walters, juniors Kaiel Stewart, Xavier Ortiz, and Marquis Green.
After the King High game, Spoto has an open date or a bye Sept. 22 before taking on neighboring rival East Bay Sept. 29.