By STEVE JACKSON
The Lennard High Longhorns ran their early-season grid record to 2-0 last week and established themselves as the major power player in the South Shore for 2024. The Longhorns, of second-year head coach KB Belton, dominated Spoto 47-18 last Friday. Lennard combined a talented balanced offense and a tough defense against a scrappy 1-1 Spoto team. Lennard faces another test this Friday night as the 0-2 Blake High Yellow Jackets of Tampa visit Ruskin.
The South Shore is a mythical football classification, not an official high school division or district. This ObserverNews covers five high schools in the South Shore in its print and digital (TheNewsObserver.net) every week. The five South Shore public schools in the southeastern corner of Hillsborough County are Sumner in 7A District 7, Riverview in 6A District 7, Lennard in 6A District 11, and Spoto and East Bay, both in 5A District 8.
East Bay, coached by Mike Gottman, bounced back from an opening loss to topple the Hillsborough Terriers in Tampa 28-13. The Indians travel to Lithia this Friday to grapple an even tougher Newsome High, now 1-1 after dropping a 21-14 contest to Palmetto High.
Spoto, under Coach Keith Chattin, has a competitive team with some outstanding performers, especially on offense. The Spartans host a 1-1 Plant City squad this Friday in respective districts.
Lennard, under Coach Belton, has tough competition in its 6A D11 District with 2-0 Palmetto and 2-0 Parrish in addition to 1-1 Lakewood Ranch and 0-2 Gateway of Ft. Myers. The Longhorns welcome the challenge, however, as Coach Belton has meshed together a top-notch squad with returning veteran players and a bunch of competitive transfers.
Last week in Spoto, Lennard jumped out to a 33-6 halftime lead. The Longhorns showed a powerful rushing attack as well as a diverse passing game, thanks to junior quarterback Jacob Mobley and his backup, senior Henry Myers.
For Lennard, senior Gavin Fields ran for 135 yards and two TDs while junior and track star Michael Merritt piled up 125 yards and two TDs, including a 97-scoring sprint. The Longhorns racked up 361 yards of offense against Spoto as QB Mobley added 164 yards passing and two aerial TDs to transfer wide receivers. Senior Keon Brown snared one score for 50 yards, and senior Elijah Marcelin added a scoring catch. Receivers senior Richard Sykes and junior London Green also got in on the Horns’ passing game with Sykes receiving 2 for 30 yards and Green pulling in 4 for 29 yards.
Lennard super placekicker senior Aiden Gibbons went 2-4 on field goals with his longest at 40 yards. Gibbons booted through 5 of 5 PATs. Lennard sophomore Mekhi Williams had another interception, his second on the season. Other Longhorn defensive stalwarts included senior Jamarie Clarke with 15 tackles, junior Thomas Shine and sophomore Sta’shaun Gage with seven tackles each, and junior Dorian Burns with a fumble recovery. Offensive line contributions for Lennard included junior Wayne Ingleton, senior Mitchell Richison, senior Christopher Sanchez and sophomore Kordae Oleskewicz. Subs senior Myers at quarterback and running back senior Sha’Hyward also added offensive stats in mop-up time for Lennard.
Spoto stars included Z’orey Cotton with 112 yards rushing and junior Nathan Richardson, the Spartans QB who hit 6 of 9 passes for 174 yards and two scores. Richardson added 49 yards on the ground. Junior Spoto receiver Jesse Harden looked good with three receptions for 156 yards and a pair of TDs. Spoto has another tough opponent with Plant City at Spoto this Friday evening. The Raiders lost 28-21 versus unbeaten Durant last week. Plant City features highly respected and talented QB Chris Denson.
East Bay battled back to a 1-1 season record by toppling 1-1 Hillsborough High in Tampa. Indians sophomore defensive back Carlos Lemons grabbed a 4th quarter Terrier pass for a 42-yard pick six to seal the deal for EB 28-13. Coach Gottman of East Bay was pleased to see senior QB Rocco Boyd hit 4 of 8 passes for 91 yards and a 55-yard scoring toss to senior Jaeryn Millerd. Millerd also rammed in a 3-yard TD in the second quarter to push EB to a 21-0 lead. The Terriers, behind Coach Earl Garcia Jr., with some 50 years experience, came back to 21-13 before EB’s Carlos Lemons returned the interception for the game winner in the last quarter. Senior EB running back Tommy Rieger also helped with 91 yards rushing on 21 attempts.
Senior Justin Cornish bulled into the end zone from 3 yards out for the Indians’ first score in the opening quarter.
The Indians face another tough opponent on the road this Friday in 1-1 Newsome High in Lithia. The Wolves fell last week to Palmetto High 21-14.
In an uneven match between the two Riverviews, the Sharks of the South Shore were swamped by the Rams in Sarasota 42-7. Coach Tony Rodriquez now hosts his team’s first home game in Riverview at 0-2, looking for that important first win against a 1-1 Middleton Tigers team, which was defeated by Strawberry Crest last week.
East Bay Football Photo
East Bay High School won its game against Hillsborough High School.
Riverview is in a rebuilding mode, playing sophomore quarterback 6-3, 196 pound Aidan Airgood, who was 3 of 7 for 67 yards passing and one score in the lopsided loss to the Rams. Coach Rodriquez’ team added 111 yards by seven different runners, but none reached paydirt. Senior Elijah Lespinasse picked up 28 yards rushing while junior Koby Hollman added 27; sophomore Jason Greenwell, 23; and senior Andree Lee contributed 21 yards on the ground. Senior Shark receiver Julian Arthurs pulled in the Airgood pass for the lone Sharks TD. On defense, Juvandy Robinson, a junior, led the way with four tackles for the Sharks.
