Braden River, IMG Blue top Week 6 Power Poll rankings

Despite inclement weather delaying games once again, the Week 5 schedule did get completed Friday. So here’s this week’s Power Poll rankings.

Public

1. Braden River (1-0)

Scoop: The Pirates have the county’s most explosive offense and get their biggest test next Thursday against district rival Venice, a team that defeated them twice including a playoff elimination game last year.

2. Palmetto (2-1)

Scoop: After coming up short against Sarasota Riverview just before Hurricane Irma, the Tigers regained their swag and caused some waves with an upset victory at Lakeland Lake Gibson, a team that hung with Class 8A title contender Kissimmee Osceola in Week 1 and reached the Class 6A state championship in 2016.

3. Manatee (1-1)

Scoop: Keyon Fordham might be the best athlete in the area. After breaking out in 2016 as a running back, Fordham took his first game as Manatee’s starting quarterback and tallied 365 yards (184 rushing, 181 passing). The Hurricanes are a different offense with Fordham in control, and the team is steadily improving.

4. Southeast (2-0)

Scoop: The defense is relentless and the offense possesses a running game that wasn’t always around in 2016. This team is poised for a big season.

5. Lakewood Ranch (2-0)

Scoop: One of the area’s early season surprises is the Mustangs starting 2-0. After a couple sub-par seasons, Lakewood Ranch is unbeaten after pulling through in close games and should keep it going in district play against North Port this week.

6. Bayshore (0-2)

Scoop: If the Bruins play the first three quarters like they’ve played the last one, then they’re on their way to racking up wins. Bayshore waited until the fourth quarter to score against Lakewood Ranch and last Thursday’s opponent, Southeast. But it was too little, too late.

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1. IMG Academy Blue (3-0)

Scoop: There’s not much letdown in IMG’s daunting schedule. After knocking off Miami Central, ranked No. 5 in the USA Today Super 25 rankings, the Ascenders battle Central’s district rival Miami Northwestern, who are just as athletic and fast as the Rockets were on Friday.

2. Cardinal Mooney (3-0)

Scoop: RB Bryce Williams is going to take the Cougars as far as he can. The senior tallied 185 rushing yards against Englewood Lemon Bay, despite the Manta Rays loading the box to stop him. A Minnesota commit, Williams has three 100-yard rushing performances this season.

3. Saint Stephen’s (2-0)

Scoop: The Falcons were off this week, but have already demonstrated they are the team to beat in the Sunshine State Athletic Conference. With RB Chase Brown, S Sydney Brown and QB Fred Billy, the Falcons possess some ridiculous weapons in their bid to defend the SSAC title.

4. IMG Academy White (1-1)

Scoop: The second Ascenders varsity team, the White squad took a licking when Saint Stephen’s rolled them a couple weeks ago. That 44-0 shutout was a stinging defeat, but IMG’s White team is still big and skillful to slide into No. 4.

5. Out-of-Door Academy (2-0)

Scoop: The Thunder are a surprise team, utilizing the triple option offense to jump out to a 2-0 mark for the first time in quite a while. ODA also clawed past Bradenton Christian last Monday in a close game the Thunder haven’t had luck with in recent seasons.

6. Bradenton Christian (0-3)

Scoop: The Panthers had a couple chances to beat ODA, but couldn’t get over the hump. A botched extra point attempt nearly turned into a heroic two-point conversion. Then BCS couldn’t hit a field goal to win it, but the silver lining is the defense played well, especially against the run, compared to earlier defeats.

This story was originally published September 23, 2017 at 3:13 PM with the headline "Braden River, IMG Blue top Week 6 Power Poll rankings."