- November 23, 2024
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The 2024 high school football season is one week down, which means fans have had a chance to see the good and the bad of their teams.
Week one is not always a sign of how teams will look the rest of the season, but it does showcase where teams stand following the offseason, and in some cases, what needs to be fixed for teams to go from an also-ran to a real contender.
Here's a breakdown of how Sarasota teams fared in their openers, and the key takeaways from those performances.
The Cougars, who are coming off a Florida High School Athletic Association Class 1S state championship in 2023, did exactly what a program of that caliber should do when going up against rebuilding opponent: win, and win decisively.
Cardinal Mooney beat Sarasota High 41-6 on the road Aug. 23. The Cougars were leading 41-0 at halftime before pulling back and playing bench players to get them some experience. Junior quarterback Devin Mignery did most of the offensive damage, completing six of nine passes for 172 yards and three touchdowns. Mignery also ran the ball six times for 120 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore running backs Connail Jackson and Ashton Kelly also had rushing touchdowns. Junior wideout Kymistrii Young led the team with 92 receiving yards and a score.
On defense, it was domination by committee, as 10 Cougars had at least one tackle for loss, and juniors Macaiden Brown and Blake Roulund each had an interception.
If there was anything to be learned from this performance, it is that the Cougars will not underestimate anyone on their schedule, bringing their best each week. Fans may not learn more than that about Mooney until tougher competition comes to town in the form of rival Bishop Verot High (1-0) on Sept. 20.
After a transfer-heavy offseason for Booker High, one of biggest questions of the football season was how the Tornadoes would put all of its pieces together.
In week one against Lely High, Booker gave an answer: Put them in open space, and watch them go.
The Tornadoes' air attack threw for 330 yards and six touchdowns on just 17 passing attempts in a 46-0 home win. Quarterbacks Joel Morris, a junior, and Ryan Downes, a senior, split reps, but the offense never slowed, ripping big plays at seemingly every turn. Juniors Chuck Kennon and Tyren Wortham had two touchdowns each, while junior Dylan Wester and senior Ryan Simmons each had one.
The defense showcased just as much athleticism, holding Lely quarterback Carter Quinn to 197 yards while completing just 19 of 40 attempts thanks to pressure from the Tornadoes' front seven. It was a stark improvement from the Tornadoes' preseason game against Mooney, when Booker allowed the Cougars to march up and down the field and score 45 points.
Like Mooney, this game did not give many hints about Booker's standing among the state's elite. Lely High was just 5-5 a season ago. A week two road game against Berkeley Prep, the defending Class 2M state champion, on Aug. 30 will show just how quickly the team's roster has come together.
The Blazers have had a tackle football program since 2022, but it has previously been of the 8-on-8 variety.
Not anymore.
Starting this season, the Blazers transition to 11-on-11 football, which was the plan from the start. Playing in the Sunshine State Athletic Association instead of the FHSAA, the Blazers actually held their first game of 2024 a week ago, a 28-10 loss to Old Plank Christian Academy. But this week brought a special milestone: the program's first 11-on-11 win.
The Blazers beat Bishop McLaughlin Catholic 33-7 on Aug. 23. Junior quarterback Ben Milliken threw for 332 yards and four touchdowns, two each to junior Justin Brock and sophomore Noah Spenn. The Blazers defense had 3.5 sacks and sophomore Peyton Gray had an interception.
The takeaway? The Blazers can compete at this level of football. For a burgeoning program, that is an achievement.
The Riverview football team lost to Naples High in week one. On its own, the result is not a cause for concern; Naples is consistently a top-level program. But the Rams lost 47-14, and giving up 47 points is a concern.
Naples ran for 390 yards on Riverview at a clip of 7.6 yards per carry. Three different Golden Eagles players ran for more than 100 yards. The Rams front seven must improve if the Rams want to hang with the state's top programs.
The Sailors appeared to be improved after a 14-8 preseason win over Brandon High on Aug. 16. That may be the case, but fans would not know it after the team's 41-6 loss to Cardinal Mooney.
That has less to do with the Sailors and more to do with Mooney's talent. The Sailors hit the reset button under new Head Coach Amp Campbell and were not expected to hang with the Cougars.
In the coming weeks, the Sailors will have better chances to show the progress they have made. A week two game against Braden River High, which is going through a similar rebuild, is an opportunity to get a regular season win on the board.
