The Hawks came into tonight and took care of business. They didn’t just take care of it they finished it early. Bartow never had a chance in this game! Obviously we knew that it was going to be a tough go for this Bartow team that came in losing 4 of its final 5 games but this one got ugly fast!

In the first half alone The Hawks put up 48 points of offense. Things got started early as Hawks QB #14 Quinn Niemann threw a 10 Yd pass complete to #3 Braylon Knauth for a TD. That was followed up by a turnover on downs by Bartow immediately followed by RB #5 John Celestin with a 5 Yd Rushing TD. Bartow made it interesting as they did score a touchdown on the next possession to make it 13-6 but that’s as close as they would get

John Celestin added another 17 yard touchdown and then the biggest play of the night came when Hawks punt returner #3 Braylon Knauth ran back a 70 Yd Punt Return for a TD. This put the Hawks up 26-6 early in the second quarter. Even the Hawks defense looked great as #19 Jamaal Thompson recovered a fumble by Bartow which eventually lead to David #1 David Ramos catching a touchdown pass.

By that point the game was out of reach but Lake Minneola’s offense was just getting started. John Celestin had 5 touchdowns in this game and Braylon Knauth had 3 touchdowns as Lake Minneola heads to the next round. An all around incredible effort by this team and they will face some stiff competition next week as they face off at home against The Winter Haven Blue Devils who amazingly upset Land O’ Lakes to have the right to play Lake Minneola next week.

This is starting to feel like it’s a team destined to go deep in the playoffs. The way The Hawks are playing it’s hard not to think they are the favorites. However things are about to ramp up for this team. Look for next weeks game to possibly be one of the best games of the week! We wish The Hawks the best of luck preparing on a short week!

South Sumter continued their dominance this season as they took care of business against the Panthers. Honestly we are just thrilled the Panthers even got to the playoffs this year. It’s been a long road for this program and just because they lost this game doesn’t mean it wasn’t a successful year for Eustis. For those who don’t understand the situation Eustis lost one of its star players Senior WR Tyree Patterson who is headed to The Florida Gators next season. That was a massive blow for this Panther offense and it showed down the stretch. Even so making the playoffs and winning 3 straight district games was amazing to watch and they should be proud of what they accomplished.

Eustis actually lead in this game 7-0 at the end of the first quarter but things would change drastically. I’m the second quarter turnovers and mistakes lead to The Raiders scoring 34 points and essentially ended the Panthers season before halftime. A running clock in the second half didn’t stop The Raiders from scoring. The offense piled on another 22 points as the Raiders won easily 63-13.

South Sumter is going to make a run at the championship this year. That I’m sure of. Watching this team it’s hard not consider them the favorites to win it all possibly. They will of course face tougher competition going forward but they’ve been blowing teams out and their record now stands at 11-0 on the season still perfect.

Next week South Sumter hosts Hudson who were able to defeat Nature Coast to earn that right. That should be a much tougher matchup for The Raiders. Hudson is 9-2 on the season and they are looking to pull what would be a major upset to try and move onto the Regional Final! On the other half of the bracket Cocoa will hosting Palm Bay. The winner of these two games will face one another in the Regional Final which is basically like the elite 8 in basketball. Best of luck to The Raiders this week!

Williston’s perfect season has come to a close. The Devils ended their season 10-1 with the loss to Wildwood. This one was fairly close but Wildwood was very much in control of this game from the start. Williston made it interesting at times but they couldn’t stop the offense The Wildcats brought.

Wildwood brought it’s A game tonight. That was highly evident as Vincent Brown Jr. and Jamari Dickens ran all over Willistons defense. The Devils were left scratching their heads at times as they just couldn’t figure out how to stop this unique offense The Wildcats use. They ended up figuring it out late but at that point all the Williston players were gassed and tired. To Wildwoods credit they were not going to be denied in this game and through grit, determination and sheer dominance the Cats have found themselves headed to a Regional Semifinal

Wildwood next has to travel to Hawthorne to play the 8-0 Hornets next week. Hawthorne got the luxury of a bye week so that can be a blessing and a curse. Sometimes bye weeks after this stage can cause a team to get rusty. It can also heal players up. How Hawthorne responds next Friday will be interesting to see. Should be a fun matchup and Wildwood should keep the game close. They may be the underdogs in that game but don’t rule out an upset. This team has certainly showed it can play with the big boys this season!