By STEPHEN FLANAGAN JACKSON
Miraculous, Rewarding, Finally, Heartbreaking, Disappointing: these five words describe the five South Shore high school football games last Friday.
For Lennard High, the Longhorns were staring their first loss of an early undefeated season in the eye. With a scant four minutes remaining in the clash with Blake High, the hometown Horns were moping around on their own 25-yard line, hopelessly trailing 22-6.
Lennard band member plays his part of the National Anthem performance by the Longhorn band prior to the win over the Blake Yellow Jackets.
Someway, somehow, Lennard transformed what appeared could be a crushing defeat into a 25-22 storybook victory and a 3-0 record. Miraculous!
The Riverview Sharks, destroyed the previous week by the Riverview Rams of Sarasota and limping along with a 0-2 record, hosted Middleton High in the Sharks’ home opener. Last season the Sharks turned in a respectable 7-4 record. This season it seemed impossible to match or to improve that agenda. But a good week of practice led to a balanced offensive and defensive effort. The hard work produced a resounding first Shark victory of the season, 41-12, over the visiting Middleton Tigers. Rewarding!
Francis Fedor Photos
Jacob Mobley, junior quarterback for Lennard, tosses a spiral pass in the comeback win over Blake. Mobley threw for 202 yards by hitting 18 of 30, passing for two TDs. So far Mobley has 624 passing yards for 2024 with eight touchdowns.
The Sumner High Stingrays have been a force in South Shore football ever since the newest high school opened in 2020.
Last season Sumner enjoyed dominance in posting an 11-2 record. Now, having lost its original coach and several stars to graduation and transfers, the question is would the Stingrays win a game after opening this season 0-2. On the road in Tampa, versus a weak Wharton High squad, Sumner answered that question with convincing 33-7 win. Finally!
Lennard defender blocks pass attempt from the Blake quarterback just before the end of the half.
The East Bay Indians exploded for 21 first-quarter points in its Friday game in Lithia versus rugged Newsome High. The Indians could not dent the scoreboard after the early flurry. Newsome climbed back into the match with seven points in the 3rd quarter and 14 in the 4th quarter. East Bay was devastated by the Wolves, continuing the rally with three points in overtime to zero points for East Bay. That made the final score 24-21 in favor of Newsome, dropping the Indians to 1-2 on the season. Heartbreaking!
A fifth team in the South Shore is Spoto. The Spartans are not world beaters but have some talented and energetic ball players. That Spartan talent was outdone and overwhelmed by Plant City and its outstanding quarterback Chris Denson, 61-24. Disappointing!
The three winners from last week are looking for consistency and the two losers searching for resiliency as the 2024 high school season marches on this Friday evening. All games, three at home and two on the road for the South Shore football teams, kick off at 7:30 p.m.
Lennard, the top team so far in the South Shore, hosts Gateway High, a 0-3 cream puff from Sarasota. Coach KB Belton’s high-flying Longhorns face their first 6A District 11 opponent in Gateway, a weak squad that has only scored 19 points while coughing up 144.
Gavin Fields, senior running back for Lennard, bangs for more yardage versus the Blake defense in the 25-22 win. Fields’ night included 12 carries for 143 yards and a six-point score. In the Horns 3-0 season Fields has gained 316 yards rushing and scored three TDs.
Riverview draws a tough opponent in an away game with the Plant City Raiders. The Sharks head coach Tony Rodriquez and his 1-2 Sharks will have their hands full trying to slow down Plant City’s senior quarterback, Chris Denson.
Sumner is at home but faces a tough foe in 2-1 Newsome. The Wolves and the Stingrays are both in 7A District 7 along with Plant City.
East Bay, recuperating symbolically from open-heart surgery, has a Friday night home date this week with rival 1-1 Bloomingdale Bulls. The Indians of Coach Mike Gottman are looking to rediscover their offense on Big Bend Road after the late collapse against Newsome.
Spoto buses to Tampa, striving to reach the break-even point with its 1-2 mark. The Spartans head coach, Keith Chattin, expects his offense, built around versatile quarterback junior Nathan Richardson, senior supreme scatback Z’orey Cotton and glue-fingered receiver junior Jesse Hardin, to rack up the points necessary to swamp 0-3 King High, which has a miserable, for this season, six points scored and 88 given up.