Week 6 football rewind: Braden River-Palmetto top next week’s games

Just like last year, Braden River’s regular season game with Venice came down to the final play in another instant classic between the two budding rivals.

The Indians thwarted the Pirates for a third straight time, and for the first road victory in the series since 2011, the year before Braden River head coach Curt Bradley took over the East Manatee County program.

Consequently, Braden River finds itself in exactly the position it did in 2016: in a must-win scenario next week when the Pirates travel to Palmetto.

The two square off in a rescheduled Week 4 district game on Friday.

The Tigers’ experienced senior class already has two signature victories: ending Manatee High’s long county win streak that stretched back to 2006 and upending last year’s Class 6A state runner-up, Lakeland Lake Gibson, on the road.

The last two years saw Braden River dominate Palmetto en route to a district title and runner-up spot, respectively. That resulted in playoff appearances for the Pirates at the expense of the Tigers.

But the new Florida High School Athletic Association playoff format changes things considerably. Earning a high enough average of points throughout the season means a playoff ticket gets punched, rather than relying on earning one of the top two spots in a district.

Braden River adjusted its schedule to make way for Palmetto next week, but more on that below.

Other intriguing games to watch: Cardinal Mooney at Southeast and IMG Blue at Venice. Both are on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Takeaways

1. Despite the loss, there are positives to learn from for Braden River. The Pirates couldn’t stop Venice QB Bryce Carpenter in the first half. Carpenter ran for 137 yards in the first half. Defensive adjustments saw Carpenter limited to 23 rushing yards the rest of the way. While the Indians turned to the passing game for big plays in the second half, you have to be curious how a second meeting goes with a healthy Tyrone Collins (Missouri commit) locking up with Venice WR Jaivon Heiligh (eight catches, 184 yards, two TDs). Collins, arguably the top defensive back in Manatee or Sarasota counties, is getting closer to returning from a torn ACL.

2. Manatee’s offense is rounding into form at the right time. Josh Booker and Keyon Fordham are special. Lakewood Ranch has quietly started 3-0, though the Mustangs haven’t played Class 7A-District 11’s top-half teams such as Braden River, Palmetto or Venice yet. The Mustangs are gaining confidence with the expected rebuild, but could make some waves with upsets against any of the 7A-11’s stronger programs. Watch out for Southeast, who are seeking revenge for last year’s loss to Cardinal Mooney in this year’s meeting on Friday. The Seminoles are clicking and looking like a vintage Southeast.

3. Who in the Sunshine State Athletic Conference can stop Saint Stephen’s offense? The Falcons exploded for 61 points — all in the first half — on Thursday against Out-of-Door Academy and are poised to make another run at the SSAC championship.

Game balls

There were several top offensive and defensive performances in Week 6. It’s hard to narrow it down to just one, but, alas, that’s what we’ll do.

Drum roll please ... Offensively, Lakewood Ranch’s Mason Fischer (150 rushing yards, two TDs) is the Week 6 player of the week, while Palmetto’s Tray Thompskin (six tackles, one TFL, PBU, fumble return for TD) is the defensive player of the week.

Other noteworthy offensive performances include: Braden River’s Cam White (119 rushing yards, one TD) and Bryan Gagg (19-for-34 for 243 passing yards, two TDs); Manatee’s Keyon Fordham (149 rushing yards, three TDs) and Josh Booker (136 rushing yards, three TDs); Palmetto’s Anthony Marino (15-for-20 for 196 passing yards, three TDs) Southeast’s Latrell Peavy (137 rushing yards, two TDs) and Saint Stephen’s Chase Brown (132 rushing yards, two TDs) and Fred Billy (191 passing and rushing yards, four total TDs).

Other noteworthy defensive performances were Manatee’s Brandon Dossey (INT), Earac Washington (fumble return for TD); Palmetto’s Teriq Houston (eight tackles, two TFL, sack, PBU, forced fumble); Saint Stephen’s Ryan Thompson (three tackles, INT, fumble recovery), Cam Vining (six tackles, two TFL), Parker Lansberg (two TFL, sack); Southeast’s Kam Green (five tackles, one TFL, two hurries, sack), D.J. Bryant (seven tackles, INT, PD), Jordan Alexis (fumble return for TD), Brandon Shannon (eight tackles, one TFL, two PDs, forced fumble) and Cam Bartles (three tackles, INT).

And a final shout out to Saint Stephen’s Demetrius Davis, who notched 96 receiving yards with a touchdown, a 95-yard kick return for a touchdown, returned an interception for 40 yards and had two pass breakups.

Weather or not?

No hurricane warnings, no lightning delays and just a smidge of sprinkled rain. Thursday went smooth for all the public schools and the one private school game for Manatee County programs in Week 6.

Let’s hope the worst is behind us and we can start to shift toward delay-free weeks ahead. With that in mind, there’s still lots of football to cram into the next month. Bradenton Christian kicks off the makeup schedule on Monday against St. Petersburg Shorecrest Prep. The Panthers lead Shorecrest 7-0 when the game resumes.

To play Palmetto on Friday for a bigger gate in a revenue-stricken season with all the cancellations, the Pirates maneuvered their road trip to Sarasota Booker to Monday, Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. That decision also jettisoned the original date for Braden River’s continuation of a Week 2 postponement against Clearwater, which inclement weather halted at halftime. The tentative makeup date for that home game is Saturday, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. if necessary for playoff points. Braden River leads 21-7, but it comes one day after the regular season finale at St. Petersburg High. To combat a packed schedule in the final two weeks, the Week 10 home game against North Port was moved from Friday to Thursday, Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. Unfortunately for area football fans, the Braden River-Manatee showdown must wait a season. That game was canceled. The Hurricanes do have a makeup game scheduled for Monday, Oct. 30, at 7 p.m. They’ll face Lithia Newsome in a Class 8A-District 6 home game.

This story was originally published September 30, 2017 at 4:33 PM with the headline "Week 6 football rewind: Braden River-Palmetto top next week’s games."