Our feature match this week between two powerhouse programs was competitive until it wasn’t! South Sumter came into the game undefeated and kept that streak going completely dismantling Mitchell High School in the process. Mitchell started off well and drove the ball down the field comfortably in the first quarter. Quarterback Chris Ferrini scored the initial touchdown and a field goal was added to make it 10 – 0 after the first quarter. Thats about the last time the offense shined for Mitchell. Ferrini did end up throwing for 130 yards and rushing for 69 putting him over 200 yards total for the evening but the defensive meltdown that ensued unfortunately put Mitchell in a bad position that ultimately cost them the game. 

From the 2nd quarter onward Mitchell was outscored 42-0! The South Sumter Raiders added 2 touchdowns before halftime to take the lead 14-10. Kaden Payne and Jamare Dorsey lead the team in rushing yet again. The offense looked so good and Eian Finkley shined as he decimated the defense of Mitchell. By the 3rd Quarter it was evident that Mitchell was in trouble. Another 13 points were added by South Sumter to make it 27-10 going into the 4th quarter. 

The atmosphere was palpable and the crowd knew The Raiders were 12 minutes away from securing the biggest victory of the year. They did just that as 15 more points were scored in the 4th quarter. By the time the final whistle sounded South Sumter had won 42-10. An incredible night and an even more amazing performance by the South Sumter Offense that looks really good headed into a matchup with Crystal River next Friday Night at Home at 7pm. For Mitchell the next time they play in Lake County will be against The Villages Buffalo on October 7th. 

This game on paper looked like a blowout but when you think of the historical significance that this game will take with it the next couple of years its plain to see why this was such an incredible contest to attend. The Villages came into the game at 1-2 on the season and looking to get back to 500. Leesburg meanwhile knew they were going to have to contend with a Buffalo offense that has finally found its footing this season. The first quarter was fairly competitive with Leesburg and The Villages exchanging punts before The Villages struck first with Junior Running Back Alvon Isaac scoring the Touchdown. That put The Villages up 7 to nothing. Leesburg could muster no offense against a stout Buffalo defense. 

During the 2nd quarter a bizarre play unfolded as Leesburg Quarterback Trini Thomas threw an interception at midfield to Buffalo defender Michael Florian who was running the interception back trying to score a touchdown. He was then tackled from behind and fumbled the ball. The ball was scooped up by Kenneth Gillard who was able to make a 40 yard gain on the play. Believe it or not that was the Yellow Jackets biggest play of the night and unfortunately for them Trini Thomas threw 7 interceptions to Villages defenders. The Villages tacked on 3 more touchdowns before halftime. Two of the three touchdowns were scored offensively by Alvon Isaac with a third touchdown scored from an interception by you guessed it…. Alvon Isaac! 

By halftime Isaac was approaching history. No one in Villages history had ever scored back to back 5 touchdown games. The last player to even score 5 touchdowns in a game was Mac Harris in 2019 who now plays Linebacker for The USF Bulls. Isaac had the chance in the 3rd quarter to make history but the team elected to hand the ball to Senior Running back Brady Widmann who couldn’t find the end zone and The Buffalo kicked a field goal. As time was winding down in the game the possibility of Isaac reaching the goal of five touchdowns didn’t seem possible. That is until Alvon Isaac intercepted Trini Thomas who had already thrown 6 picks on the night. 

Isaac ran the ball back 95 yards for his 5th touchdown of the evening and ran into the history books as the only player in school history to do that twice in a row. An amazing feat that may never be beaten. He has the chance to make even more history next weekend when The Villages plays Eustis at home as the only player in Lake and Sumter County history to do it in three straight games! As for Leesburg they have a chance to get back on track next week when they take on a struggling Tavares team who are 0-5 and haven’t won a game this year. 

Friday Night Lights got started off Thursday night with an amazing game between two programs that fought to the bitter end. What a tough loss this was for South Lake! They could literally taste their first victory of the season but it just slipped through their grasp. South Lake was down 27-18 entering the 4th quarter where they put up 29 points but ultimately lost by one. On the flip side this is a terrific win for a Mount Dora team that desperately needed the victory. Senior QB Matthew Butler attempted 24 passes completing 13 and throwing for 259 yards. Senior Running back Dante Turner ran for over 200 yards with a few touchdowns as well. 

Overall a terrific night for the offense. The Hurricanes now improve to 2-2 on the season and have a winnable matchup when they take on The Umatilla Bulldogs at home next Friday night at 7pm. As much of a stinger this was for South Lake they did manage to score their highest points total of the season and also managed to nearly win a game something they have not done this season. That win can’t be far off in the future for this team. As for Mount Dora they escape a 4th quarter defensive collapse and look forward to bigger and better things going forward. 

This was a fairly standard win for a Palatka team that came into Lake Weir and took care of business. The win moves Palatka to 4-0 on the season while Lake Weir stays winless on the season at 0-5. With games against Atlantic from Port Orange and Williston on the schedule it’s not exactly the easiest road to a first victory for the Hurricanes. As for Palatka we wish them the best of luck on the remainder of their season as they try and remain undefeated They will not be playing in Lake or Sumter County for the remainder of the year as they face district rival Tocoi Creek and Space Coast for their upcoming contests. 

Mainland got a much deserved victory in this one. The Bucs trailed early in the first quarter 7-3. Hawks Senior Quarterback Quinn Niemann attempted 26 passes and completed 19 of them for 271 yards on the night but Mainland piled on 15 points in the second quarter and made the Hawks offense have to work extra hard. Unfortunately from halftime on the Bucs never looked back. Braylon Knauth lead the Hawks in receiving yards with six receptions totaling 150 yards and 1 touchdown on the evening. Also worth noting John Celestin had over 100 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns. 

Mainland improves their record to 4-1 on the season. They have what should be an easy matchup against Pine Ridge from Deltona next Friday. Meanwhile Lake Minneola was handed its first loss of the 2022 season. They still have a very respectable record of 4-1 on the year. They have a big home game against The West Port Wolfpack next Friday Night. It should be a real barn burner of a football game next week as West Port is coming off a relatively easy night where they beat a struggling Gateway team 26-0. Look for this game to be a feature matchup next weekend. 

Close your eyes folks this one was ugly! This game got out of control in a hurry. It was such a blowout that the kind coaches did not include the points per quarter on Max Preps and for the sake of Akelynn’s we wont include that either. Listen we all know Wildwood is good and we appreciate good football being played. It is no question what happened in this game and we just hope that AACA can be competitive with what is in front of them and for the future of that program. What we will include are some offensive statistics for Wildwood. Senior Quarterback Jamari Dickens had 4 touchdowns. Dickens aired the ball out for 3 touchdowns and one rushing touchdown. 

Zach Poyser, Vincent Brown Jr, Lorenza Simmons, and Ben Bellamy all had 1 receiving touchdown a piece. Other than Jamari Dickens, Kicker Dedrick Grady had the second most points with 8 Point After Attempts which all made it through the uprights. Wildwood improves to 4-1 on the season. The Wildcats obviously couldn’t be stopped on offense and scored on almost every play they ran from the line of scrimmage. Akelynn’s just couldn’t get their offense going which lead to a very lopsided affair. Wildwood next faces Union County from Lake Butler Florida at Home next Friday before turning their attention to Chiefland on October 7th. As for Akelynn’s we wish them the very best of luck for the remainder of their football season and perhaps they might be able to turn things around.