28 is the magic number for Pirates to reach

EAST MANATEE — Winter Haven won nine of 10 games, pitching shutouts in six and allowing a single touchdown in the other two.

The Blue Devils’ lone loss was a 28-0 setback to Lakeland on a rainy night in Polk County during the second week of the season. They won their last eight.

And all of that means, what?

“It’s really about us,” Braden River coach Ed Volz said. “It’s about how we play.”

The teams meet tonight in Winter Haven in the Class 3A-Region 3 quarterfinals.

The Pirates (6-4) are making their second straight playoff appearance. Last year, they beat Palmetto at Palmetto and lost at Arcadia DeSoto.

“We want to go farther than we did last season,” senior linebacker Trevor Barnes said. “We want to play in December.”

Braden River will be without cornerback Joey Meador, who suffered a broken jaw during the regular season finale against Palmetto.

“He’ll be missed,” defensive coordinator Mark Rupprechet said.

Meador’s absence means the three-man rotation at corner is now down to Devarious Reed and Chris Calloway.

Like Braden River’s Ryan Fischer, Winter Haven’s Levi Borders became the quarterback during midsesason because of an injury to the starter. He has completed 34 of 60 passes for 489 yards and six touchdowns. Julius Moseley leads the Blue Devils with 642 rushing yards. As a unit, the Blue Devils offense averages 211 yards a game, including 144 on the ground.

“They’re good at a lot of things,” Rupprechet said. “It’s hard to get a handle on what they do, because they don’t have a lot of tendencies.”

Braden River will counter with a heavy dose of running back Tevin Bryant, who has banged his way for 1,378 yards and 16 touchdowns.

“If we can get 28 points I feel we can win,” Volz said. “That seems to be the magic number.”

The rest is up to the defense that has faced Venice, Manatee and Southeast this season.

“We aren’t going to see anything we haven’t seen before,” Volz said.