By FRANCIS FEDOR
Sumner welcomed the Hillsborough Terriers to the Tank for the Stingray’s hurricane Milton rescheduled make-up game and dominated the Terriers 29-14 for the win. The win secured a playoff berth for the ‘Rays who started their season at 0-2 and finished 6-4 playing what has been described as the toughest schedule in Tampa Bay (by one outlet). Sumner (5 seed) will rematch a 17-14 win over Newsome (4 seed) in the Tank on Sept. 13. The playoff game will be at Newsome HS on Nov. 15 at 7:30p. The winner of that game will play the winner of top seed Venice v. Haines City (8 seed) with the location TBD based on the outcome of that game.
The Stingrays got off to a strong start against the Terriers on their senior night at the Tank. Antonio Balaguer continued his strong season with a TD pass to one of his favorite targets, Taesean Robinson, and scored another TD by calling his own number with a rushing score. Sumner had two other rushing scores, one by Tommy Scott and another by Jeremiah Jones.
Balaguer had a productive game, racking up 152 yards of passing offense. Senior Jaheim Hudson led all Stingray rushers with 40 yards on 16 carries, and Robinson finished with 141 yards receiving. The ’Rays defense forced three fumbles and four sacks to keep the Terriers offense on the sidelines. Sumner led 29-7 before giving up a late score to make the final tally look tighter than the game actually was.
The ’Rays finished a season that saw a change in head coach, a number of players who transferred before the season started and even big changes in their offensive line. Head coach George Selvie and his staff put in the hard work and kept the team upbeat and confident during the season, and the results are defined by the awarding of the playoff berth. In their district the ’Rays were second only to Plant City, which finished 8-2 and 4-0 in district play. The Stingrays finished the regular season ranked #19 in Tampa and #14 in all of Florida for Division 7A. Five players were named to the District 15 All-District team. Seniors Jeremiah Jones (WR/FS), Isaiah Shuler (CB), Makhi Foster (DT/MLB) and juniors Isidro Rodriguez (T/G) and Taesean Robinson (JR) (WR/P) were honored for their very successful seasons. Jones set a school record for 892 yards receiving on 42 catches (also a school record).
The Stingrays will keep Sumner football tradition intact with their playoff appearance and will be looking to advance deep into the playoffs.
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