By STEVE JACKSON
The five high school football teams in the South Shore won four and lost one in last week’s grid action on Friday. Two of the squads posted emphatic victories over winless Tampa squads. Two others won scintillating last-second games. The lone loss was an old-fashioned whipping.
To be a bit more specific, Lennard High, at the halfway point of the regular season, maintained its status as the “best” in the South Shore. The Longhorns bumped their record to 5-0 by smashing winless Leto High in Ruskin 48-6. In a similar style, East Bay High established itself, so far, as the second-best comeback team by running its season mark to 3-2 with a 33-7 pasting of winless Blake High in Tampa. The Spoto Spartans also ran their season mark to 3-2 with an improbable 44-42 home win over 3-2 Chamberlain. Sumner exhibited a similar Hail Mary victory as a 62-yard bomb on its last play created a 19-13 win for the Stingrays’ third victory in a row after dropping its first two games of the season. The one defeat suffered by a South Shore team was the 37-13 vanquishing dealt to 1-4 Riverview Sharks by Newsome High of Lithia.
Spoto senior RB Jaedyn Cartwright looks for the end zone with Storm defenders in chase.
Spartan junior QB Nathan Richardson looks for a target as a Chamberlain defender closes in.
All five South Shore squads hit the road for this Friday evening’s clashes. All start at 7:30 p.m. with the exception of favored Lennard at 3-1 Lakewood Ranch in Manatee County with kickoff at 7 p.m. East Bay, under head coach Mike Gottman, should have a pleasant round trip to Tampa with the hapless Leto Falcons. Spoto High, on the other hand, will have its hands full with favored 3-2 Tampa Bay Tech in Tampa. The Spartans, of Coach Keith Chattin, have the offense but will have to find something special on defense to upset favored TBT. Coach Tony Rodriquez of Riverview is an overwhelming underdog at 3-2 Durant High. Sumner appears to have righted the ship defensively under Head Coach George Selvie. The Stingrays’ problem will be contending with top notch quarterback Chris Denson on the Raiders’ home turf.
Spoto junior Jessie Harden on his way to a return for a TD
Spartan senior Z’orey Cotton carries the ball in game vs. Chamberlain. Cotton has over 1000 rushing/receiving yards on the early season.
Lennard’s Head Coach KB Belton will be looking to double last season’s win total in the short trip to Lakewood Ranch for the Horns second District 11 action of the year. Last week, Lennard flashed its offensive and defensive balance along with good depth, enjoying the savor of the weak cupcake Leto.
“Everybody got in this game,” beamed Coach Belton proudly after the demolition of Leto, referring to his starters and bench as Lennard jumped out to a 27-6 halftime lead and it became a “running clock” 48-6 victory.
Horns quarterback junior Jacob Mobley connected on 11 of 17 passes for 132 yards and two TDs. Senior running back Gavin Fields piled up 118 yards, including a 70-yard scoring jaunt and a touchdown. Junior running back Michael Merritt toted the pigskin seven times for 43 yards. Freshman QB Kreg Brown got in on the act, hitting Caden Baska for a 50-yard TD. Scoring TDs for Lennard included Mobley, Fields, Pestano, Marcelin, Baska, Thomas Shines and Terell Dixon. Three Horns scored 2-point conversions in the rout: seniors Richard Sykes and Elijah Marcelin and junior Jaxson Shuman. Defensively, Lennard also overwhelmed the Leto Falcons with superior talent and depth. The individual highlight was sophomore defensive standout Mekhi Williams who stole his sixth pass for the Lennard season-record interception. Top tacklers for Lennard included Dorian Burns, Jamarie Clark, Jaiden Jones, Nazir Pierre, Kasa Holmes and Sta’shawn Gage. The Horns racked up 10 sacks.
Tampa was the site of East Bay’s dominant victory over 0-5 Blake High, 33-7. Coach Gottman’s Indians leaped out to a 7-0 first quarter lead and tallied 13 points in each of the third and fourth quarters before allowing Blake to hit the scoreboard in cruising to EB’s second straight win.
Indians QB Rocco Boyd and Dravyn Oblak collaborated on an early 50-yard scoring toss to break the ice. A 50-yard run by EB’s Harold Moure Cuello and an 8-yard TD pass from Boyd to Riley Rix in the third stanza put the game out of Blake’s reach. In the fourth and final quarter, Boyd finished off the Yellow Jackets with two more TD tosses to Carlos Lemons for 47-yards and for 29-yards. Jaxson Farchione kicked three PATs for the Indians. Defensively, the Indians held Blake, until its meaningless late score, with the effort and efficiency of Indians Caleb Williams, Dorian Edwards, Comarion Anthony, Jowell Amador and others. EB running backs Tommy Rieger with 91 rushing yards on 22 carries and Cuello with 83 yards on only three carries were too much for Blake. East Bay’s Oblak grabbed four of Boyd’s eight completions on the night for 106 yards. Carlos Lemons pulled in a pair of Boyd’s aerials for 76 yards and two TDs.
Spoto and Chamberlain battled down to the wire with Spoto hitting the biggest strike on the game’s final play to grab the 44-42 win. The visiting Storm amassed 518 total yards to Spoto’s 437. The Spartans offensive power was led by its incomparable trio of Z’orey Cotton, Nathan Richardson and Jesse Harden. Senior Cotton rushed eight times for 66 yards.
The slim speedster grabbed six passes for 146 yards and a TD. Versatility is another positive trait of Cotton as he also returned four kickoffs for 131 yards. For good measure, Coach Chattin put Cotton on defense from time to time where the swifty made five tackles. Quarterback Richardson hit 12 of 21 passes for 276 yards and two TDs. The junior signal caller also rushed for a TD. Harden continued to have an excellent season. The junior receiver caught only three passes but for 83 yards and two TDs. Harden also contributed 82 yards on punt returns. Harden also played on both sides of the ball, adding three tackles along with an interception. Senior running back Jayden Cartwright also had a big night, adding 87 yards and a TD on six carries. Defensively, Spoto was sparked by three sophomores: Rome Freeman, Antonio Berry and Xavier Pitts. Freeman’s statistics show 10 tackles, including two sacks.
The Riverview Sharks exhibited a gallant effort but could not match the talent of neighborhood rival Newsome High of Lithia. The visiting Wolves ran their record to 3-2. Newsome jumped out 13-6 in the first quarter to enjoy a 27-6 halftime lead. Sharks QB senior Rod Mack and sophomore Aidan Airgood could not muster enough offense through the air. The Riverview air game had Mack hitting 10 of 15 for 153 yards and a TD, and Airgood completed 2 of 2 but for only 15 yards.
Francis Fedor Photos
Spoto takes the field with its flag prior to the game against Chamberlain HS on Sept. 20.
The rushing game was not much more successful. Senior Isaiah Washington could only grind out 42 yards on three attempts. Senior Andrew Lee added 18 yards on seven rushes. Mack made 31 rushing yards on eight runs. Riverview senior Julian Arthurs grabbed two passes for 45 yards and a TD. Junior Alex McPherson snared four and passed for 67 yards and Washington five for 49 yards. Senior Mason Burriss picked up 43 yards on kick returns, but it was not nearly enough against the potent Newsome Wolves.
Sumner High, under new Head Coach Selvie, had a prayer answered to win on its last offensive play, 19–13, over Plant High in Tampa. The Stingrays posted their third win against two losses. (For more on Sumner High football see article and photos by Francis Fedor in this week’s print edition and in the digital version at ObserverNews.net.)