By FRANCIS FEDOR
The Stingrays captured the 7A District 7 title on Senior Night at the Tank with their 42-7 win over the Alonso Ravens. Sumner finishes the regular season at 8-2 (4-0 in the district) and first district title for head coach George Selvie in only his second season at the helm. The Stingrays, now ranked #15 in Tampa by MaxPreps and the highest of the South Shore Six, will host a home game on Nov. 14, and the Tank will be rocking for whoever the opponent becomes.
Francis Fedor Photos
Sumner assistant coach Jared Farchione showed appreciation for the grunt work of the offensive line in win over Alonso on Oct. 24, clinching the district.
Stingray head coach George Selvie greets Elijah Brown during Senior Night festivities on Oct. 24.
Sumner HS students honored principal Christine Wasylkiw during the game against Alonso on Oct. 24.
Senior Stingray QB JJ Conyers was hugged by coach Patrick Giles after rousing win to clinch the district championship on Oct. 24 in the Tank vs. Alonso.
Alonso won the toss and deferred, putting Sumner on offense first. The Rays, without starting QB Antonio Balaguer, who is hoping to return for the playoffs, called on senior Jamareis “JJ” Conyers to run the offense. Conyers typically plays in the defensive backfield and sees time at WR but brings athleticism to the QB role and can use his legs or his strong arm to find targets downfield.
The Stingray special teams created the first scoring opportunity with Michael Joshua getting a hand on a Raven punt and taking over deep in Alonso territory. Conyers immediately called his number and carried the ball down to the seven yard line. He connected with Christian Mollinio two plays later for the game’s first TD. The Stingray defense, which has been stingy of late, with the Lakeland game the rare exception, kept the Ravens from finding a rhythm. Conyers found Tyler Lynch for the Rays’ second TD, on a drive setup by a long pass from Conyers to Taesean Robinson. It would be the deciding TD as the Ravens struggled to get any momentum with their only score a TD with 0:00 on the clock and long after the game had been decided. Conyers capped the first half scoring with a rushing TD of his own.
The second half was more of the same, including a punt block, that setup a Conyers to Robinson TD, followed up by a Conyers to senior Zion Colbert score that had the Rays players planning their district champion celebrations. The Rays added another TD before the Ravens found the end-zone, but the celebrations and water dousings had already begun. It was a great moment for a Stingray team that had battled highly ranked opponents; four were ranked inside of the Top 100 Statewide, and Sumner split those games, winning two out of four. The Rays got key wins against Plant and Plant City to build momentum for the second half of the season. They handed Plant City, a district opponent, its first loss of the season, and that was a key win in the chase for the district title.
The water was flowing on the sidelines as the celebration kicked off for the 7A District 7 Champion Stingrays.
Conyers finished 11 for 18, 170 yards passing and four TDs. He added 25 yards rushing. Robinson was the leading receiver with 84 yards and a TD. The defense didn’t get a sack or an interception, but created constant pressure on the Raven QB.
The unit did force three fumbles. Kevon Inmon led the way with eight tackles.
For more South Shore action, look for the South Shore summary in this edition.
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Photos available for purchase at https://www.maxpreps.com/photography/photographers/ Florida-Francis Fedor
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