By FRANCIS FEDOR
The Stingrays found the win column with a 33-8 road victory over the Wildcats. Wharton was the right team at the right time to get first-year head coach George Selvie his first Sumner win.
Sumner, coming off a tough start to the season with its first two opponent draws, traveled up I-75 into Tampa to play the Wharton Wildcats. The Wildcats were coming off a 74-0 trouncing at the hands of Tampa Bay Tech. The Stingrays were coming off back-to-back losses, including last week’s 44-7 home opener loss to Armwood. Ironically, Armwood and Tampa Bay Tech faced off at Armwood with the Hawks winning that game to start their season 3-0. The Stingrays finally caught a break in the schedule and took advantage of it. Both teams ended the first quarter without notching a score, but the Stingrays ended that early in the second quarter with a 24-yard completion from Antonio Balaguer to Taesean Robinson for the TD. The defense stepped up and followed with a safety. The Stingrays completed their dominance of the second quarter with a 19-yard run from USF commit Jeremiah Jones and another TD completion from sophomore QB Balaguer, this time a 16-yard strike to Samuel Thomas. The Wildcats got on the board just before the end of the half with a 60-yard kickoff return.
Sumner added two more scores, one in each quarter, to complete the night. Antonio Balaguer earned his first win, completing 10 of his 18 attempts for 127 yards, with two TDs and one interception. Senior Jeremiah Jones added two interceptions to his night, playing both ways. The Stingrays return home to face the 2-1 Newsome Wolves, their first district match-up. Sumner will be looking to get to .500 for the first time this season. The Wolves are coming off a win vs. another South Shore team, the East Bay Indians. The Tank will be rocking for the Stingrays first match-up of a team that is closer to them than any so far this season. Newsome is also a familiar opponent. The Stingrays defeated them last year, 49-8, on Oct. 27 at Sumner. The Stingrays are a different team from the one that dominated the Wolves last season. However, the Stingrays routed Wharton last year, and that could be a harbinger of the match-up on Friday, Sept. 13, with Newsome at the Tank. Sumner will be tested again and will return to the road for two more tough opponents, first at Plant and the following week at Plant City. Moments like these define a program through the challenges and build character. Coach Selvie and his staff will have the team prepared for road ahead.
