Braden River football improves to 5-0 with another dominant performance

The last time Braden River and North Port took the field there was a scuffle after the game. But on Friday night, the Bobcats showed no such fight.

The Pirates’ smothering defense pitched a shut out as they dominated North Port 38-0, giving up only 24 yards of total offense in the second half.

“We didn’t start off the way we wanted defensively,” Braden River head coach Curt Bradley said. “The guys bent but didn’t break, and then we got it going in the third quarter forcing some turnovers.”

North Port (0-5) had a few chances in the first half to make it a game before going into the half down 17-0. Unfortunately they weren’t able to convert red zone trips into points.

“I thought we played better than we have the past few weeks,” Bobcats head coach Brian Hatler said. “We had our chances just couldn’t put any points on the board.”

The Pirates (5-0, 2-0), known for their two-headed monster in Raymond Thomas and Deshaun Fenwick, got a jump start from freshman Travis Tobey’s two touchdown receptions.

Thomas also finished with two touchdowns, both coming in the third quarter, while Fenwick chipped in one.

“We wear teams down, tonight was no different,” Thomas said. “Our goal at the beginning of the year was to win our third straight district title, and we are two wins away from that.”

Braden River has a week off to prepare for the showdown with Venice.

“That’s a well coached squad over there, they are playing like a machine so we will have our hands full,” Bradley said. “We will use this week to get healthy. Tonight we had six starters out so health is our biggest focus right now.”

This story was originally published September 30, 2016 at 11:37 PM with the headline "Braden River football improves to 5-0 with another dominant performance."