By FRANCIS FEDOR
It may be hard to believe, but the HS football regular season ended this past weekend. The Florida High School Athletics Association (FHSAA) will turn its attention to determining who plays into the post-season, either in the state playoff bracket or the new invitational tournament. Sumner, as the only South Shore District Champion, will get automatically seeded in the state playoffs. The others will await word from FHSAA.
Longhorn senior Julian Brown carries the ball in win over Chamberlain on Oct. 31.
Lennard senior QB Jacob Mobley pitches the ball to RB Ronnie Wilson in big win over the Storm on Oct. 31.
Francis Fedor Photos
Longhorn WR London Green hauls in a pass that went for a TD as he found space behind the coverage in win over Chamberlain on Oct. 31.
Lennard Longhorns (8-2) 20 Chamberlain Storm (7-3) 0
Head Coach KB Belton and the Lennard Longhorns closed out their regular season as they await their post-season fate, either as an invitee to the state playoffs or the Florida Invitational Tournament. They took to the road and added to their impressive season on a Florida chilly night with lows in the high 60s at game time with a 20-0 win over the Chamberlain Storm. The Longhorns finish the season at 8-2.
The offense did its part in creating opportunities and the team returned to shutting out teams as it had in a four-game stretch in September, before the losses to Parrish Community and Palmetto. The offense got big efforts from its two stars, QB Jacob Mobley and RB Ronnie Wilson. Mobley completed 10 of 13 passes for 143 yards and two TDs for a clean night. The TDs went to senior London Green, finishing with five for the season, and junior Aidon Ivory, his first of the season. Wilson was tough for the Storm defense to stop, spinning off of tackles and coming out of gang tackles for additional yards. He finishes his junior season with just over 1000 total yards, 854 rushing and 215 receiving. Mobley is just shy of 5000 passing yards in his time with the Longhorns, and is an original, playing all four seasons at Lennard. He may have a chance to surpass 5k if the team, as it should, gets an invite to a post-season opportunity, but he has left a legacy in his time on the gridiron.
Chamberlain came into the game also at 7-2, but the quality of its opponents had been a bit lacking. The defense stymied the Storm all night, and Parker Owens came up big with four sacks to keep pressure on the QB. Robert Gibbons, Mekhi Williams and Charles McDaniel each recorded a drive-ending interception with a couple of the picks coming as Chamberlain was closing in on the endzone.
Lennard players Mekhi Williams and Dorian Burns wait for action to resume in win over Chamberlain on Oct. 31.
Spoto Spartans (6-4) 49 Sickles (1-9) 3
The Spoto Spartans closed the 2025 campaign on a positive note with their rout of a struggling Sickles squad, with the Gryphons only win coming against a winless Leto in a battle of winless teams on Oct. 17. A lone Sickles field goal kept the Spartans from recording their fourth shutout of the season. The Spartans were tough on opponent offenses during their wins, holding teams to only 42 points in those six wins, and 35 of those points coming in their opening season win against Davenport.
The offense was paced by sophomore QB Giovanni Sbabo and his three TD effort. He only missed on three of his 16 attempts and threw for 370 yards. Senior Jesse Harden caught two of those TDs, finishing the season with six scores from the receiver position. He also added a kickoff return TD. Harden also tossed five TDs from the QB position and accounted for over 1K yards total, including as a returner. He was asked to contribute in all facets of the game, and Coach Chattin and the Spartans will have to look for other contributors to replace what he brought to the equation. Junior Michael Grider was on the receiving end of the other passing TD. Sophomore Alando Riggins scored two rushing TDs, and Antonio Barry also had a rushing TD.
The defense stepped up by forcing a drive ending fumble and keeping pressure on the QB with four sacks.
Three of their four losses came to teams that won at least seven games, and two of those teams, Lennard and Plant City, were undefeated when they played the Spartans. Coach Chattin navigated a tough schedule and came out two games above 500, having a number of two-way stars who will be returning. He will be looking for them to continue to step up and be leaders for their respective units.
Riverview Sharks (6-3) 7 Armwood Hawks (9-0) 49
Riverview closed out its season with the toughest of tasks, traveling to Armwood to face an undefeated Hawks team, and lost as the Hawks finished a perfect season. Time will tell how far the Hawks will go in the state playoffs.
Armwood got on the board early and often, scoring 21 first quarter points. It added another 28 in the second quarter, but the Sharks found the end zone for their only score in that quarter. Neither team lit the scoreboard in the final half of football up I-4. Armwood senior Rhys Brush finished up a stellar HS career as a Hawk with 6262 total yards, with just over 2500 of those coming last season as a junior.
Riverview QB Carter Peternell tossed the only Shark TD, connecting with senior Xavier Kelly. The Hawks pressure did force a Peternell fumble and two interceptions. The Armwood defense created constant pressure, sacking Peternell eight times, and forced the sophomore QB to make quick decisions. It was clearly a tough assignment for the young QB; this will be a game that allows coach Rodriquez and his staff to work with Peternell and only make him a better QB going forward.
Lennard RB Ronnie Wilson uses his blocker as a path to a big gain in win over Chamberlain on Oct. 31.
The Sharks, like a number of the other South Shore teams, had to navigate a tough schedule. Three of their four losses came to teams that had at least seven wins, and two of those came to teams, Plant City and Armwood, that were undefeated at the time. Coach Rodriguez will work towards improving on their 6-4 record and just missing a district championship, with the loss to Durant being the difference.
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