BRADENTON — Trayvon Pinder scored three touchdowns during a 3-minute, 54-second stretch of the fourth quarter to lift the Braden River High offense out of the doldrums and past upstart Parrish Community, 31-21, in a Class 3A-District 13 Suburban game on the Pirates' Homecoming Night on Friday night.
The Bulls (4-2, 0-2 in 3A-13) led 14-10 entering the fourth quarter before the Pirates (4-2; 1-0 in 3A-13) got on track.
On a fourth-and-2 from the Parrish Community 49, Braden River went to its Rhino set and Pinder burst off the left side for 49 yards to give the Pirates a 17-14 lead they never relinquished.
The Bulls’ next drive stalled at their own 38-yard line. Facing a fourth-and-7, Parrish Community tried a fake punt that was stopped at the line of scrimmage by Marcus Waiters. On Braden River’s first play, Pinder went 38 yards.
The Pirates’ Ronin Dangler recovered a fumble on the next series after a penalty placed the ball at the Parrish Community 8-yard line, Pinder went in around the left side to make it 31-14.
The Bulls grabbed an early lead in the low-scoring first half. On their fifth series after not gaining a first down in their first four, Jackson Volz connected with Lane Tomlinson for a 65-yard gain leading to a 12-yard touchdown run by Javon Moss, who was stopped at the line of scrimmage, but willed into the end zone by his offensive line.
Getting the ball with 53 seconds left before halftime, Braden River quarterback Nick Trier completed five straight passes, including a 32-yarder to AJ Causey to get his team into field-goal range. Bruno Reus booted a 28-yard field goal as time expired to put the Pirates on the board before halftime.
With Jevon Moore recovering a fumble on the first play of the second half, Braden River had the ball on the Parrish Community 27-yard line. Four plays later Roy Burchette went over from seven yards out to give the Pirates their first advantage at 10-7.
The Bulls then mounted an 86-yard drive in 12 plays, highlighted by a Volz-to-Kymistrii Young 39-yard pass, before Volz rolled to his right and found Tomlinson in the back of the end zone to put Parrish Community up 14-10 with 11 seconds left in the third quarter.
Friday, Braden River will be home to Sarasota High. Parrish Community will play host to Cypress Creek. Both games begin at 7 p.m.
• Who said there are no moral victories in football? “We fought hard,” Bulls coach Christopher Culton said. “I know that’s coach speak: There are no victories in an L, but there’s growth. There was moral victories. It’s still a loss, but we grew. Where we grew was in the head and heart. When we are measured, we showed up tonight. We’re going to be around. We’re not going anywhere. This is just the beginning. I’m proud of our guys.”
• After winning their first four games, the Bulls have dropped two straight, including last week’s 14-9 setback at Southeast High. “This loss was not like last week,” Culton said. “We were right in it. We had our chances and we went for it. We’re trying to be as aggressive as possible and it didn’t happen. But that’s life. We’re going to go for it. When there’s a chance, we’re going to go. We had a chance to flip it and we didn’t.
• Volz had a nice game at quarterback, completing 19-of-28 for 236 yards. He found Young seven times for 89 yards, all in the second half. Tomlinson caught four balls for 90 yards.
• There was no dramatic halftime speech that helped the Pirates turn things around. “Sometimes young men need to dig themselves out of a hole,” Braden River coach Curt Bradley said. “They’ve just got to find it from within. That’s a life lesson that will carry them on for a long time. When they get out of high school they are going to be on their own and somebody is going to depend on them, and they’re going to have to get themselves out of it.
• Pinder, a junior who lost a fumble in the first quarter, had 109 of his 145 rushing yards in the fourth quarter. “He’s his own self critic,” Bradley said. “He’s very hard on himself for putting that ball on the ground. He just wasn’t running like himself in the first half. The defense got a couple of stops in the second half, and he took advantage of short fields. The offensive line was able to finally break through. We thought we were close a few times, and then we started breaking people down in the fourth quarter.”
• Along with Pinder’s fumble, the Pirates had two touchdowns called back in the first half because of penalties. “The next thing you know you are losing,” Bradley said. “Parrish plays very hard. Their staff does a good job, and they took advantage of that. We had to make some adjustments. We were always one block off in the first half. And they outplayed us. They physically played harder than we did in the first half. One adjustment is effort. We made a couple tweaks here and there. Nothing major. We kept the same personnel in there for the most part and our players responded.”
SARASOTA - Four different Venice High players scored touchdowns as the Class 8A defending state champions rolled to a victory over host Sarasota in a Class 4A-District 14 Suburban game at Cleland Stadium at Ihrig Field.
Playing its first game since a 24-17 victory over Seminole on Sept. 23, John Peacock's club broke open a 7-7 game with four touchdowns in the final six minutes, 20 seconds of the second quarter, entering halftime with a 33-7 lead.
For Venice (3-2), running backs Jamarice Wilder and Alvin Johnson led the way with a total of five touchdowns. Wilder scored on runs of 1, 6 and 2 yards. His first TD put Venice up 7-0, his second upped the lead to 20-7, and his third, with 10:25 left in the fourth, put Venice up 36-7. The sophomore finished with 82 yards on 15 carries.
Johnson, meanwhile, scored on runs of 11 and 5 yards, the former putting Venice up to stay 14-7 in the second quarter. He was the game's top rusher with 96 yards on 14 carries. The visitors scored on all four of its second-quarter possessions, aided by Sarasota twice going for it on fourth-and-1 from its own 29, and twice being stopped.
Up 26-7, Venice got a blocked punt from Jaquavious Washington with 53 seconds left before halftime. Set up at the Sailor 9, Venice scored on second down when quarterback Brooks Bentley connected with Ryan Matulevich on a 6-yard touchdown pass. Bentley finished 16-of-22 for 174 yards and two TDs, the second, to wide receiver Cato Glover covering 17 yards, accounted for the final score.
The Sailors (3-3) only touchdown tied the game at 7-all early in the second quarter. Aided by two Venice personal foul calls, for roughing the passer and a facemask, Sarasota moved to the Venice 12. On third down, quarterback Alex Diaz found Caleb Bradley for the 12-yard touchdown. Under pressure for much of the game, the sophomore Diaz finished 7-of-16 for 79 yards and one interception, by linebacker Jack Huber.
Sarasota tried running the ball, finishing with 104 yards on 32 attempts. Jaden Judge led with 54 yards. But the return of Venice defensive lineman Trenton Kintigh made a big difference in the Sailors only being able to run in spurts.
• The three-week layoff didn't seem to produce any rust on the Venice football team. It scored on its first five possessions against Sarasota, its first scoring drive covering 93 yards and requiring 14 plays. "I thought the first half we played pretty well," head coach John Peacock said. "(Sarasota) just had the ball a long time; they tried to make it a boring game. I don't even know last year if we scored on five possessions in a row. I thought we played pretty sound tonight; we had a great week of practice." Still, not everything was perfect for Venice. They failed to make three conversions following scores - two kicks were blocked and a 2-point pass failed - and were penalized 80 yards. "We knew there were going to be a lot of penalties tonight," Peacock said. "There's going to be a lot of penalties next week, too (at Riverview)."
• Early on, it was the hard running of Alvin Johnson. Then, the equally hard running, with a little wiggle for good measure, of Jamarice Wilder. The two combined for 178 yards and five touchdowns in Venice's 46-7 victory over Sarasota. Coming into the game, Johnson had gotten more of the backfield work, but Peacock admitted he can't say if he has a starter. "We just rotate each series," he said. "They're both different runners. Each brings something different to the table. But both are really talented and both run extremely hard."
• Quarterback Brooks Bentley came in with 47 completions on the season, 17 going to sophomore Ryan Matulevich, and the pair hooked up again versus the Sailors. The former Cardinal Mooney Cougar caught a 6-yard touchdown from Bennett, his third of the year, in the second quarter. But Bennett targeted Matulevich a number of other times. He finished with five receptions for 72 yards.
• If the game had a turning point, it came in the second period. Down 14-7, the Sailors opted to go for it on fourth-and-1 from their own 29. Head coach Brody Wiseman had wide receiver Chris Rudolph, who has experience taking the snap under center, do that, rather than Alex Diaz out of the shotgun. Venice stuffed Rudolph, took over possession and eventually scored to make it 20-7. "We've repped that every Friday for probably two years," Wiseman said. "For that exact situation. I don't think they were necessarily prepared for it. We didn't get the push up front." A series later, once against faced with a fourth-and-1, and again from their own 29, the Sailors went for it. A Diaz pass on a slant fell incomplete. Venice took over once again and scored once again, making it 26-7. "We had a different play called," Wiseman said. "The quarterback checked, he made a good decision to check. We just didn't complete the pass there." And on the Sailors' ensuing possession, Venice's Jaquavious Washington blocked a punt. Forty seconds later, Venice scored again and led at halftime 33-7. Its final score, a 17-yard TD pass from Bennett to Cato Glover with 5:40 left, made it 46-7 and triggered a running clock for the rest of the game.
• Wiseman's decision to be aggressive was based on Venice being able to run the ball. "Frankly, I'm not necessarily worried about the final score," he said. "I'm worried about winning and losing. We're going to be aggressive. We don't think, 'OK, we lose by 21 points to Venice, it's a great game.' We want to win and that's our approach." Wiseman said his players didn't quit, even when Venice essentially put the game away with four second-quarter TDs. Two years ago, Sarasota lost 71-0 at Venice. "There was a lot of quitting and folding going on," he said. "I got a good football team. We gotta finish strong and find wins at the back half of the season."
PALMETTO – Palmetto coach Dave Marino had thought he’d seen it all when it comes to high school football, at least he thought so until a victory over Lakewood Ranch.
Marino’s Tigers hosted Lakewood Ranch at Harllee Stadium for their second game in four days, an unprecedented scheduling kink due to Hurricane Ian’s statewide impact from just two weeks ago. Just three days after routing Southeast 40-3 on Tuesday, the Tigers were back on the football field
“We’ve done a Monday and Friday week with two games, but I’ve never done a Tuesday and Friday schedule,” Marino said. “To play two games with that quick of a turnaround, it says a lot about our team’s character and how much they were able to fight through the fatigue.”
The Tigers had walkthroughs all week in practice – no hitting, no pads – in preparation for their first Class 4A-District 13 Suburban game. Lakewood Ranch (4-3; 0-2 in 4A-13S), conversely, came in desperate and with a playoff berth on the line after a 35-23 defeat to Manatee last week.
“It’s basically an NFL week,” Marino said. “You can’t do your normal week preparations, you have to be smart. I gotta give these kids credit. You could tell we were a little tired in the first half, but they kept fighting. The mental toughness and physical toughness to withstand and overcome that, through those ebbs and flows and those momentum shifts, it’s impressive.”
Senior Kyrie Marshall surely didn’t slow signs of fatigue or slowing down Friday. The two-way Palmetto veteran, who before this year hadn’t played running back since his freshman season, ripped off a 49-yard touchdown gash on the first play of the game and finished with career-high 132 rushing yards on 16 carries. Marshall’s historic night came just three days after he set previous career highs with 110 yards and two scores in Tuesday’s win.
Marshall’s aggressive running style wore down the Lakewood Ranch defense throughout the contest, as the senior racked up 12 of his 16 rushing attempts in the first half and earned half of the Tigers’ (4-3; 1-0 in 4A-13S) first downs during the first two quarters of action.
“I always break down the defense before the play starts, and on the first play of the game I saw the hole before the snap. I just made the play and scored a touchdown,” Williams said. “Run angry, stay positive, that's my style. It feels good to be playing on both sides now for our team.”
Palmetto signal-caller Zander Smith connected with junior wideout Zymarrion Lang for a 59-yard touchdown strike down the left side of the field to tie the score at 14-14 in the first quarter. Each team proceeded to rotate field goals to make it 17-17, before the Tigers offense erupted for two more touchdowns to close the first half, including another passing score from Smith to Lang.
Kyrie Williams added a two-yard touchdown run, his second score of the first half, to extend the Tigers lead to 31-17 with 1:27 remaining before halftime. Smith finished with 186 passing yards and three touchdowns, including a third score to junior receiver Malique Callaway. Rok Lodge and Kahvon Williams added two catches apiece for the Tigers offense.
Palmetto kicker Brandon Gonzales was a perfect 2-for-2 on field goal attempts, including kicks from 39 and 34 yards out, and converted all seven of his extra point attempts for the Tigers.
• Palmetto’s defense stifled the Mustangs in the second of Friday’s district contest, holding Lakewood Ranch to 79 yards of offense and four first downs after the halftime break. Marino credits the second-half shutout to schematic changes made at halftime focused on switching from man coverage to more of a two-high safety look. “They were killing us early with the passes to the tight end underneath, and our adjustments paid off,” Marino said. “It allowed our kids to stay in their positions and stay disciplined, and our kids responded well.”
• Senior defensive tackle Drew Rumph dominated the line of scrimmage from start to finish for Palmetto, forcing and recovering two fumbles in the first half to put an end to any early momentum the Mustangs offense had built. Rumph, a Division I prospect, strip-sacked quarterback Clayton Dees on back-to-back drives and also recorded a fumble recovery. “He’s the best defensive lineman we’ve got,” Marino said. “(Drew) doesn’t get D1 offers by accident, and we expect him to play at that level.”
• Williams’ career night on the ground now gives the senior 238 rushing yards and four touchdowns in the past four days alone. The senior had primarily played linebacker during the past two seasons, but he’s now a vital cog on the offensive end for the Tigers as they go deeper into the season. “Our other linebackers needed to show they could get the job done, so that we could get (Kyrie) on offense. He’s improved our offense and makes us so much more dynamic.”
• Thomas Johnson had Palmetto’s lone interception of the game, while Christian Dozier added a first-half forced fumble and recovery on a Lakewood Ranch kick return. The Tigers didn’t allow a point after Lakewood Ranch made a 34-yard field goal with 5:34 left in the second quarter, and they now improve to 12-1 all-time against Lakewood Ranch.
• The Mustangs scored two quick touchdowns, one on a 22-yard dart from Dees to Isaac Ashley, and the other on a 1-yard touchdown plunge from tailback Kevin Everhart to take a 14-7 lead with 8:07 remaining in the first quarter.
• Turnovers doomed Lakewood Ranch, including four lost fumbles in the first half and an early interception to start the third quarter. The Mustangs earned more first downs than Palmetto in the first half and moved the ball well early, but the passing game struggled after the Tigers switched out of their man coverage scheme.
• Everhart led the Mustangs with 112 all-purpose yards: three catches for 35 yards and 77 rushing yards on 21 carries, including a rushing touchdown. Dees had 94 rushing yards to go with 147 passing yards and one interception. Junior wideout Chase Edens had three grabs for 41 yards. Nick Sinacore and Ashley had two catches apiece.
BRADENTON – The visiting (on a map, at least) Manta Rays physically mauled the Bruins from start to finish at Balvanz Stadium. But for head coach Don Southwell, just playing a football game barely two weeks removed from Hurricane Ian was enough.
“I was concerned about our conditioning,” he said. “We are a good football team and I knew these kids would be ready to play. It was just, could we sustain it? For two days of practice, I’ll take it.”
Senior quarterback Trey Rutan ran roughshod, accounting for 113 yards on 14 carries and tossing a 60-yard pass – his only completion – to junior Clayton Donahue to set up Lemon Bay’s second of six touchdowns. He also slammed into the end zone three times, including runs of 46 and 2 yards in the first quarter.
Rutan added a 27-yard scoring run barely a minute into the third quarter, giving the Mantas (2-3, 1-0 in Class 2S-District 15) a 28-0 advantage.
The sparsely attended game was moved to Bradenton on four days’ notice, because of hurricane damage at Lemon Bay’s Veterans Stadium. Bayshore donated all of the gate and parking to helping those in need in Englewood.
“We have three (players) that I know of who are displaced and aren’t living where they were two weeks ago,” Southwell said. “For a lot of other guys, it’s going to be a long road to get their houses back. There’s nobody on the team who wasn’t affected in some way.
“My house is in decent shape, but just driving around our community, my heart breaks for businesses and people.”
Bayshore (0-5, 0-2) has been outscored 227-22 through the first half of the season, allowing 34 points or more in all five games.
“You know what (Lemon Bay is) going to do, it’s just a matter of being able to line up and stop it,” Bruins coach Jamaal Sanders said. “We were prepared. But when you’re not as tough up front as they are … well, we just got mowed down up front.”
Trailing 21-0 after a 17-yard TD run by junior Joseph Scott with 8:11 left in the first half, Bayshore mounted its best offensive drive, marching 78 yards in 10 plays to the Manta Rays’ 2-yard line. A key third-down, pass interference penalty helped, but so did a 26-yard pass from Guyvenson Pierre to Cody Bonis.
Lemon Bay’s defense dug in, though, and stops by junior tackle Dan Romanelli and sophomore Caleb Hutcherson on third- and fourth-and-goal kept the Bruins off the scoreboard.
• The four-week layoff was never a factor in the game, but it was a very real concern. The Mantas’ last game was a 37-0 loss to North Fort Myers on Sept. 16, and the 6-foot, 175-pound Rutan said the team’s “first day back (at practice) was weird. Everybody was out of shape, and we had to ease back into things and get back to our football. It was weird, but we made it work.” Lemon Bay’s final two district games (at Booker and home to DeSoto County) will be played in a four-day span, beginning Oct. 28, after next week’s game at Naples First Baptist.
• The Mantas’ offense averaged almost eight yards per play in 47 snaps. Scott (nine carries, 79 yards, 1 TD), junior Taron Sanders (five carries, 47 yards, 1 TD), backup QB Lorenzo Maurceri (five carries, 34 yards, 1 TD) and junior Nathan Dunagan (five carries, 22 yards) all had breakout moments for a Rutan-led running game that churned out 314 yards.
• Jason Slicker converted three extra points, but after the Philadelphia Eagles unveiled “Dicker the Kicker” (Cameron Dicker) on Sunday, there were obvious questions to ask Lemon Bay’s 6-foot, 195-pound senior, soon to become a four-year soccer letterman, as well. “He’s been ‘Dicker the Kicker’ since his Texas days,” Slicker explained. “So when I started kicking, everybody was like, ‘Slicker the Kicker.’ Perfect last name.”
• Sanders has found a spark plug in Victor Jaimes, who switched numbers (was 51, now wears 84) after moving from tackle to tight end. The 6-foot, 250-pound senior caught three passes for 27 yards and usually required at least four tacklers at a time. “He’s a pretty skilled athlete,” Sanders said. “He’s our kicker, and he even played some quarterback for us last year. He does everything we need him to do. If we had a few more of him, we’d be OK.”
• Another bright spot in an otherwise-challenging season is freshman LaDavion Johnson, who got 14 carries just behind Bonis’ 15. While they combined for 62 yards, Johnson has caught his coach’s eye. “He got thrown in fast,” Sanders said. “But he’s adapted to it. He’s a playmaker. You put the ball in his hands, he makes plays.”
• Lemon Bay and its unique, brute-force running game probably wasn’t the ideal matchup for the Bruins after three weeks off. “It’s different.” Sanders said. “With everybody going to the spread system or the pro-style game, they come out and overload eight people on one side. But you don’t want to commit too much on that side, because they’ll come back with a counter the other way. You still know what’s going to happen, and we were prepared. We just got mowed down up front.”
LEHIGH ACRES – Dorian Mallary scored twice and James Little had two interceptions, the last with less than two minutes remaining as the Lightning held on for a victory.
For both teams, it was their first game back since Hurricane Ian smashed into Southwest Florida. And while it wasn't a cleanly played game by either team, it did produce some drama.
Trailing 13-0 at the half and having done nothing offensively in the first half, the Tarpons got back in it on a 63-yard touchdown run by Shy Goudette to make it 13-7 midway through the third quarter.
The Lightning responded as Richard Young, who rushed for 123 yards, scored on a 10-yard run in the final seconds of the third quarter to up Lehigh's lead to 19-7.
Charlotte countered with a 14-play 74-yard drive that took five minutes off the clock. Quarterback Michael Valentino plunged in from two yards to get Charlotte within 19-14 with 7:54 remaining.
The Tarpons had one last chance in the closing minutes, but Little made the pick to seal the win for Lehigh (2-3) and to keep Charlotte winless (0-5).
"I didn't want to give Charlotte another chance. This was a winner-go-home game and I wanted to give my team a chance," Little said. "I did everything I could. After all we went through, this means a lot to us."
Lehigh built its early lead on two touchdown runs from Mallary, one set up by the first Little interception in the second quarter.
• These kids came out after enduring a Category 4 storm and played their butts off. After falling behind early, they were able to make it a ballgame and had a chance for a win in the closing minutes. "They were asked to come back after a Category 4 storm, which nobody has ever done and bounced back to play a heck of a game," said Charlotte coach Corey Mentzer. "As a coach I'm proud. We had our shots, just had a different outcome."
• Charlotte is right there. This may be the best winless team in the state. Faint praise, but they are getting better every week, and sooner or later, they have to win one. "We were one drive away from winning. We just have more work to do and keep getting better every week," Mentzer said.
• Goudette has been a real find for Charlotte. He rushed for 115 yards for the Tarpons, nearly all of it in the second half, after the Tarpons could only muster 32 yards of offense in the first half. His 63-yard touchdown down the sideline put the Tarpons back in the game and gave them a solid offensive threat moving forward.
SARASOTA – The Thunder stayed perfect at 7-0 with a convincing win over Cocoa Beach (4-2), which came into the game riding a four-game winning streak, all four by shutout.
It was ODA's highest point output of the season and its third game with 50 or more points. The Thunder, 0-5 last season, looks to end its regular season undefeated with a game Friday at Bradenton Christian.
ARCADIA – The Bulldogs scored 15 points in the fourth quarter to overcome an early deficit and hand the Tornadoes a Class 2A-District 15 Suburban setback.
DeSoto took the lead with 22 seconds left in regulation.
BRADENTON – Josh Seagreaves hit a school-record 44 yard field goal in the loss for the Panthers.
Cale Matelau had a 10-yard touchdown run and made eight tackles. Jonah Schmidt was in on seven tackles for Bradenton Christian (2-5).
The Panthers will be home Friday to take on Out-of-Door Academy.
FORT PIERCE – The Rams won the two-team Class 1A-District 6 Suburban title with a convincing victory over the Cougars.
Tony Colebrook ran for 117 yards and two touchdowns as John Carroll Catholic led from start to finish.
"The hard work these guys have put in since January of last season through spring, through summer, this season playing a pretty tough schedule, the hard work pays off," John Carroll head coach Mickey Groody said. "I'm excited for these guys. It's nice to know we've clinched a playoff spot."
In one of the few two-team districts in Florida, John Carroll marched down the field on their opening drive that finished with a 38-yard touchdown pass from senior Dawson Maehl to classmate Aidan Singleton.
After Wyatt Dempsey converted a 32-yard field goal to put the Rams up 100, Stuart McFall hit a field goal to put the Cougars (1-5) on the board where the score stood at halftime with John Carroll up 10-3.
A contentious moment came in the third quarter as a skirmish on the field broke out after Colebrook scored on a two-yard run in the third quarter with emotions running high for both teams knowing what was at stake.
— Gavin Cooney, Special to TCPalm
Records: FCA 0-4, TCA 3-5
Next: The Classical Academy vs. Master’s Academy, 7 p.m. Monday
Top players: SC, Colton Loftus (5 catches, 120 yards, 2 TDs), Ben Milliken (15-for-27 passing, 345 yards, 4 TDs), Daniel Jacinto (16 tackles), Travis Miller (10 tackles), Austin Kerle (12 tackles)
Of note: First Homecoming game in school history
Next: Real Life Christian Academy at Sarasota Christian, 7 p.m. Oct. 28
BRADENTON — Luke Donley and Evan Brown each threw a touchdown and ran for another as the Falcons prevailed.
Brown connected with Caleb Bosek for a 20-yard score. Donley hooked up with Justin Millican on a 68-yard touchdown pass.
Running 40 times for 180 yards, Brown also scored on the ground. Donley had a 2-yard plunge for a score.
Nick Winterhalter made all four PAT kicks and made one of two field-goal attempts, connecting from 37 yards out.
Saint Stephen’s (2-5) plays 7 p.m. Friday against Oasis.
Dennis Maffezzoli is the deputy sports editor for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and chief reporter for Sarasota Herald-Tribune and HTpreps covering Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties. Support local journalism by subscribing.