By FRANCIS FEDOR
Longhorns look to rebound vs Palmetto after first loss at Parrish Community; Riverview bests East Bay to move to 5-3 on the season; Spoto off before district game vs. East Bay as season winds down; Lennard Longhorns (7-1) 6 Parrish Community Bulls (7-1) 14
The Lennard Longhorns went on the road to district rival Parrish Community (PC) High and suffered their first loss of the season. The Longhorns play the current district leader in Palmetto on Friday night, Oct. 24. Palmetto is in the top spot at 3-0 with Lennard now at 2-1. The Parrish Community Bulls are also now at 2-1 and play 3-5 Lakewood Ranch on Friday in Parrish but also have a head-to-head loss to Palmetto.
Lennard senior WR London Green celebrates after his TD to open the scoring in game vs Parrish Community on Oct. 17.
Longhorn senior QB Jacob Mobley looks for space to get the Lennard offense out of the end zone in Parrish Community game on Oct. 17.
Lennard defenders try to pull down the Bulls RB in game action at Parrish Community on Oct. 17.
If Palmetto wins at Lennard, the Tigers would win the district outright at 4-0. If Lennard wins on Friday, it could setup a 3-1 tie between the three teams, seemingly needing a next level tie-breaker. The Tigers are racking up the points this season and have 150 versus giving up only 21 in district matchups. Lennard has scored 91 versus giving up only 14.
The Longhorns scored first on a pass play from Jacob Mobley to senior London Green. Mobley continues his strong season, throwing for 238 yards, completing 22 of 31 passes. The drive started with Lennard jumping on a Bulls’ fumble on the opening possession of the game. Lennard looked to have been stopped and forced to punt, but the punter pulled the ball down, tested the defense and found that he could gain the yardage needed to keep the drive alive. The teams exchanged possessions, and it was the Bulls putting together momentum, finding the end zone to take the lead, 7-6, on their senior night. PC thought it had a TD just before the half, but it was called back with a holding penalty.
The Bulls scored early in the second half to move out to a 14-6 lead. The Longhorns had a number of chances to score, their best being a drive that moved them to the 2-yard line where they looked to have a potential game-tying opportunity, but the refs ruled that the ball had not crossed the goal line. Lennard had a chance in the closing moments of the game but fell short after a couple of missed passes and a tipped pass that fell into the arms of a Bull defender to seal the win for PC. It was a wild night of football in Parrish, and the Longhorns now turn their attention to getting a win over Palmetto.
The Bulls QB, Brycen Volz, completed 9 of 11 for 170 yards, including a TD to Nathan Schueller. Mar’Keyon Maxwell scored a rushing TD, the difference in the game.
Up Next:
Lennard plays at home vs Palmetto with district implications described above; then the Longhorns hit the road, traveling up near Busch Gardens, to finish their season on Halloween against the Chamberlain Storm. Coach KB Belton and the team will wait to see if they land a spot in the playoff or invitational tournament seedings.
Spoto Spartans (5-3)
Bye Week
Up Next:
Spoto, with a win over East Bay, will leapfrog East Bay into second place in the 5A District 8 standings but still have the head-to-head loss against Tampa Bay Tech that could give TB Tech the district. TB Tech, with a win over winless Leto, would become district champions. Coach Keith Chattin will lead the Spartans on the road to close out the regular season at Sickles on Oct. 31 and wait to learn about any postseason possibilities.
Riverview Sharks (5-3) 35 East Bay Indians (4-5) 14
In a clash of South Shore rivals, the Riverview Sharks, under the leadership of Coach Tony Rodriquez, defeated the East Bay Indians 35-14 in a non-district match-up, moving the Sharks to 5-3 on the season and dropping the Indians to 4-5.
Riverview QB Carter Peternell only made nine throws, but completed six of them for 146 yards and a TD to Alex McPherson, who made the most of two catches for 81 yards. Jordyn Bailey carried the ball four times for 52 yards and a TD, breaking one of his rushes for 65 yards. Jordyn Bass was a defensive star, creating havoc for the Indian offense with a fumble recovery and interception for two TDs. Dominic Persaud also returned a fumble recovery for a TD as part of a defensive effort that hung 21 points on the board.
On offense, the Indians got a nice effort from Omar Germany who connected on 12 of 19 passes for 162 yards and a TD to Darion Thomas. Richard McClary and Gaven Milton were intercepted, once each, in a tough game for the offense. Trey Alexander found the end zone for the other East Bay TD.
Lennard senior WR London Green celebrates after his TD to open the scoring in game vs Parrish Community on Oct. 17.
Up Next:
Riverview finishes the regular season with two road tilts. First, the Sharks head off to a district match-up against struggling Bloomingdale on Oct. 24 and finish against 8-0 Armwood, a tough task against a Hawks squad that is having a strong season and are at or near the top of the state rankings in a number of polls. The Sharks, like East Bay and Spoto, find themselves in a place where they’re likely going to be waiting for the playoff brackets to come out to see if they are invited as an at-large addition or if they are invited to the new FHSAA Invitational tournament.
East Bay concludes its regular season with a district match-up with Spoto to determine who finishes second in the 5A District 8 standings as TB Tech has the head-to-head tie breaker for the district, and TB Tech will be a heavy favorite in its remaining district game vs. Leto to win the district outright. Coach DeAndra Simmons and the squad will finish and await the issuance of the playoff and FIT brackets to see if they get to continue their 2025 campaign.
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