Busy week ahead for Braden River as regular season draws to close

All the hectic early-season weather might be gone, but there are still makeup games left.

For teams like Braden River, it’s a busy final week to the season.

The Pirates played Thursday without much trouble against North Port and have 2 1/2 games in a six-day stretch planned this week.

That was made possible when Clearwater faltered in a district game against Largo on Friday.

The Tornadoes trailed Braden River, 21-7, at halftime on Sept. 1 before lightning caused the two teams to postpone the game.

Now it’s needed with neither Clearwater nor Braden River winning a district championship this season. The Florida High School Athletic Association’s new playoff points format is why an early September postponed game even matters this week.

At this point, almost every game carries importance.

On Friday, the Pirates play St. Petersburg High, a team that could make the Class 7A-Region 3 playoffs alongside Braden River.

That same day, Palmetto hosts Punta Gorda Charlotte and Manatee plays Venice at home. Those three games are significant with how many playoff points they can potentially carry.

Those points are even more significant for the Tigers after Friday’s loss at Venice.

For Manatee, the Hurricanes must beat Lithia Newsome in a hurricane makeup game Monday to have any chance at a Class 8A-Region 2 playoff berth.

The FHSAA’s overhaul to the playoff system has certainly made the regular season finales much more meaningful for teams around the state.

Takeaways

1. Deshaun Fenwick, Knowledge McDaniel and Bryan Gagg are running a smooth Braden River offense, but it’s the line play that determines the success each week.

Last Thursday’s blowout over North Port saw the guys in the trenches open gaping holes for playmakers such as Fenwick and McDaniel, while also giving Gagg ample time to deliver pinpoint passes.

2. Adversity? What adversity? Southeast’s football team, playing for the first time without six suspended players stemming from last week’s postgame fight with Wauchula Hardee, rose to the occasion in a must-win game against Sarasota Booker.

And it was the defense that really shined. That unit created some turnovers, even without what appeared to be the starting secondary that was among the suspended players. Neither Southeast nor the school district is naming the players publicly, due to privacy concerns. However, starting secondary members didn’t play.

Still, the Seminoles were ferocious on defense and the offense rebounded from three fumbles to score the 26-8 win. They’ll need to clean up the me

3. There’s a clear separation between Venice, the Class 7A-District 11 champion, and Palmetto, which finished third in the district this season, after the Indians enacted a running clock in Friday’s win over the Tigers.

But taking third this year doesn’t eliminate Palmetto from playing in the playoffs. Palmetto must beat a Punta Gorda Charlotte team that is coming off an upset over rival Port Charlotte with a last-second field goal to gain critical playoff points and lock up a wild card berth into the 7A-Region 3 playoffs.

Game balls

Braden River’s Deshaun Fenwick ran for 217 yards on 18 carries with two touchdowns in the first half to take offensive player of the week honors.

Other noteworthy offensive performances included: Braden River’s Knowledge McDaniel (four receptions, 148 receiving yards, two TDs) and Bryan Gagg (9 of 13 passes for 200 yards, three TDs); Saint Stephen’s Chase Brown (seven carries, 151 rushing yards, three TDs) and Fred Billy (10 carries, 125 rushing yards, three total TDs); Southeast’s Latrell Peavy (18 carries, 134 rushing yards, two TDs) and Alex Taylor (14 of 20 passes for 225 yards).

The defensive player of the week goes to Saint Stephen’s Parker Lansberg (five tackles, four TFL, three sacks, three hurries).

Other noteworthy defensive performances included: Braden River’s Tyrone Collins (seven tackles, three TFL, PBU) and Terrell Thomas (INT); Out-of-Door Academy’s Tucker Harris (three tackles, TFL, two sacks, two forced fumbles), Ryan Ives (five tackles, four sacks), Banks Paxton (five tackles, fumble recovery) and Jimmy Viard (INT); Saint Stephen’s Tyler Burnham (five tackles, three TFL, 1 1/2 sacks, fumble recovery), Dylan Davis (five tackles, three TFL, three hurries, forced fumble) and Matthew Konkol (INT).

This story was originally published October 28, 2017 at 7:14 PM with the headline "Busy week ahead for Braden River as regular season draws to close."