Braden River-Venice matchup, Manatee’s Milton and Colagiovanni lead this week’s football numbers

The lightest week of the 2016 high school football regular season is in the books after four games were pushed to Saturday with Hurricane Matthew threatening Florida.

It was the second time this season that Manatee County schools had to postpone games with a hurricane looming, but there’s no delay with Numbers Game this week.

We still have some digits to dissect. And those delectable figures will look back at Manatee and Cardinal Mooney’s victories.

We’ll spin things forward to a vital Friday, too, when teams begin moving toward locking up playoff berths or ending the regular season with a whimper.

So here we go:

7.4

Average points allowed by Braden River’s opponent this Friday: Venice. The Pirates knocked off the Indians twice last year en route to the program’s first Class 7A state semifinal appearance. Braden River won the games — both at home — by an average of 13.5 points. This year’s game is at Venice, and it’s a matchup of two highly-ranked 7A teams to begin a three-game stretch to decide which two among Braden River, Palmetto and Venice will play in the playoffs.

Braden River also possesses a 25-game regular season winning streak, with this year’s unbeaten start due, in part, to the running game. The Pirates’ backfield duo of senior Raymond Thomas and junior Deshaun Fenwick are averaging a combined 10.53 yards per carry this season. Thomas (744 yards) leads Manatee County running backs in rushing, while Fenwick (520) is second.

66.7

Percentage of Manatee senior quarterback A.J. Colagiovanni’s completions that went to senior wide receiver Tarique Milton on Saturday. The two connected 10 times for 198 yards and two touchdowns. Colagiovanni finished with 319 passing yards as Manatee’s explosive offense torched Palm Harbor University for another Class 8A-District 6 running clock victory. The Canes host Sarasota Riverview this Friday.

10.33

Chase Brown’s rushing yards per attempt this season following a season-high 162-yard effort in Saint Stephen’s 41-18 victory Saturday at Out-of-Door Academy. The Headmaster’s Cup stayed with the Falcons with Brown continuing an impressive season despite not playing until Week 3. Brown moved to the area from Canada in August and didn’t get enrolled until late, which is why he didn’t hit the field until Saint Stephen’s third game.

13

Plays on which Southeast’s offense generated zero or negative yardage against Cardinal Mooney on Saturday. The Cougars pounced on the Seminoles in the 28-7 victory to continue marching toward a winning season. Mooney forced punts on Southeast’s first three possessions, then had a turnover on downs, a fumble recovery and a blocked punt on the next three series.

3

Games that hurricanes have canceled this year. Hurricane Hermine wiped out two games in Week 2, while Hurricane Matthew canceled IMG Academy’s homecoming game with Southern Lab (Baton Rouge, La.). Bradenton Christian, which was off last week, had its game postponed with Sunshine State Athletic Conference Coral Bay Division rival St. Petersburg Keswick Christian with Hermine in early September. A makeup date still hasn’t been announced, while Southeast-Braden River and Bayshore-Lakewood Ranch were canceled in Week 2.

Meanwhile, the Ascenders travel to unbeaten West Palm Beach Oxbridge Academy on Thursday in a matchup of two nationally-ranked teams.

This story was originally published October 10, 2016 at 5:45 PM with the headline "Braden River-Venice matchup, Manatee’s Milton and Colagiovanni lead this week’s football numbers."