High school football preview Week 8: Braden River-Venice

Braden River (5-0) at Venice (5-0)

When: 7:30 p.m.

The scoop: This game is arguably the biggest to date for area football fans. ... The Pirates are riding a 25-game regular season winning streak and eliminated Venice from the playoffs en route to a Class 7A state semifinal berth last year. ... Braden River's tandem running attack with Raymond Thomas (744 rushing yards, 11.3 YPC, seven TDs), Deshaun Fenwick (520 rushing yards, five TDs) lead Manatee County rushers this season. ... It's the first meeting in Venice between the two teams since 2012. ... To prepare for the crowd noise and atmosphere, Braden River blasted Florida State University's War Chant song throughout practice this week. ... The Indians boast a high-octane offense that is up-tempo with QB Bryce Carpenter (56.2 completion percentage, 250 rushing yards, 11 total TDs), RB Matt Laroche (1,058 rushing yards, 15.3 YPC, 15 TDs) and several weapons in the passing game leading the way. ... Braden River defeated Venice twice last season, but to do so this year will require winning the battle in the trenches again. ... The Pirates are ranked No. 2 in the state, with Venice ranked No. 5. ... The Joe Pinkos forecaster, from FloridaHSFootball.com, has Venice favored by 25 points. ... It's expected to be closer than that, and could come down to who has the ball last.

Prediction: Venice 21, Braden River 20

This story was originally published October 13, 2016 at 4:03 PM with the headline "High school football preview Week 8: Braden River-Venice."