Week 7 of the high school football schedule finds six of the eight county teams in action, as Harmony and Osceola hit their “bye” week. No county teams are involved in district action this week, but there are some interesting games, highlighted by St. Cloud at Gateway and Celebration at Liberty.
The Panthers (3-3) are coming off a 24-0 shutout of Liberty and will be looking to score an upset against St. Cloud. The Bulldogs self-destructed in the second half against Lake Nona last week, falling to 2-4 on the season with a 23-10 district loss to Lake Nona.
The second oldest in county rivalry, the Gateway – St. Cloud series was competitive until recently as the Bulldogs have won five in a row by an average margin of 31 points.
But St. Cloud has struggled defensively this season and although Gateway still lacks some depth they have some playmakers on offense and have recorded three defensive shutouts in their last four games.
“No question, it is still going to be a big challenge for us,” Gateway coach Marlin Roberts said. “I’ve known Mike (St. Coach Mike Short) a long time and I know he likes to throw the ball all over the place. They are well-coached and this is really rivalry game for both teams. We will need to play soundly on defense, score some points, and avoid turnovers.”
“Regardless of the scores the last couple of year, we’re not in a position to take anyone lightly,” Short said of the Gateway game. “Coach Roberts has done a fantastic job this season and they have had some success. I am anticipating a close, hard-fought game.”
The Celebration (1-4) at Liberty (2-4) is interesting for a different reason.
Both programs are under new coaches that are trying to rebuild programs and both are showing significant progress despite their overall records.
The Storm, under first year coach Chris Blanton, have lost two one-score games this season and strongly believe they could just as easily be 4-1 this year. Second-year coach Dee Hart took over the Chargers after the 2023 training camp had begun and has done a solid job in restoring pride and discipline in the program. With a few breaks, the Chargers could also have had a couple of more wins this season.
“Both teams are playing a lot of young players and both teams are still learning how to win,” Storm coach Chris Blanton said. “We know Coach Hart will have his team ready to play, so we have to come out with the right mindset and know it’s going to be a battle. Despite the loss last Friday (13-16 to East Ridge), our kids continue to fight hard.”
Tohopekaliga (3-2, 1-0 District) is coming off a hard-fought 14-9 district win over Harmony and will host Lake Brantley (2-4) in a non-district contest at 7 p.m. A once powerful program, the Patriots have fell on hard time lately – winning just eight of their last 28 games.
Despite having record-setting junior quarterback Sabby Meassick (8100 career passing yards, 82 passing touchdowns), the Tigers – with several new receivers, running backs and lineman – have struggled to score points this year, averaging just over 14 per game. Still the Tigers win over Harmony kept them in position to grab their first playoff spot in the school’s six-year history. They are currently tied (1-0) with Lake Nona for first place in the district.
Coming off its “bye” week, Poinciana (3-2) will have an opportunity to get back on the winning side when they host winless Lake Region (0-4) at 7 p.m. Friday night. First-year head coach Taron Mallard said his team will be anxious to get back on the field after dropping a 20-6 mistake-filled decision to Haines City two weeks ago.
