By FRANCIS FEDOR
Sumner football heads into the final weeks of the season with schedule uncertainty. The schedule currently has the Stingrays playing at home vs. Strawberry Crest, an important divisional game for both teams, on Friday, Oct. 18, at 7:30 p.m. Both Sumner and Strawberry Crest are 1-1 in divisional play and the game could be important for playoff scenarios in the final two weeks. The ’Rays face another divisional rival on Oct. 25, traveling to Alonso, and although the Ravens are 4-2 overall, they are currently 0-1 in divisional play. There is the wildcard of the non-divisional game that was set for Oct. 10, which was impacted by hurricane Milton, but at the time of this writing, over 100k TECO customers are without power.
There has been no decision as to how to handle that missed game; the FHSAA may add an extra week to accommodate for that schedule, but nothing is certain.
The Stingrays will be looking to close strong. Sumner has had to absorb big changes in its football program with George Selvie taking over as head coach. The team had to make a round trip of around 12 hours to play up near Jacksonville to open its season, a loss at Bartram Trail. That followed with a number of senior transfers to Armwood coming back to Sumner for the Stingrays home opener. The team has seen a sophomore QB step in to take the starting role; Antonio Balaguer has embraced the role and is growing into the position. The ’Rays overcame opening the season with two losses to run off a three-game winning streak against solid talent to energize the program but struggled in their two games prior to the hurricane and are now in the midst of back-to-back losses.
The uncertainty of the schedule after the storm is still being worked out, but the team will be looking to get back on the field and playing the final weeks of the season with the hope of earning a post-season berth. However the season ends up, Sumner football will have conquered a season of uncertainty and learned about what they have to do to move the program forward and keep the tradition of Stingray success.
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