By FRANCIS FEDOR
francisfotography@outlook.com
The Lennard Longhorns and Sumner Stingrays were the only South Shore Six (SS6) teams with games on the Friday Night Lights slate. Both came away with regular season ending victories, the Longhorns, already having clinched a playoff berth, and the Stingrays, needing a win to make their case to the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) for consideration with an at-large berth. The full FLA state high school playoff schedule will be released on Friday, Nov. 6, with the playoffs starting on Friday, Nov. 13.
The Sumner Stingrays took to the road, traveled into Tampa to face the Plant Panthers and came away with a 35-6 win. Plant was honoring its seniors and celebrating its centennial as a school. The Rays needed the win to keep their post-season hopes alive, and the Panthers brought strength of schedule value to the equation and were ranked at 115, in Florida, coming into the game. Sumner came into the contest ranked at 69 and was coming off a tough district loss to Palmetto. Plant had suffered a close loss to Bloomingdale, 36-30, setting the stage for what looked like a competitive game on paper. The Panthers scored first, putting up two first quarter FGs before Sumner took the game over and scored its first TD, a 5-yard rushing score from Robert Garcia that gave the Stingrays a 7-6 halftime lead. The defense kept the Panthers off the scoreboard for the rest of the night.
Sumner sophomore RB Brandon Jerrido II broke off a 46-yard run for a third quarter score that extended the lead. The Stingray ground game found life with Gavin Altman, Garcia and Jerrido, who combined for 183 of the 240 yards from the Sumner rushing game. Altman and Garcia combined for 28 carries to lead the rushers. Malaki Frederick closed out the scoring with a 19-yard completion to sophomore wideout Cameron Sikes. Frederick finished with 73 yards passing, two TDs and an interception. Caden Daniels was on the receiving end of the other Frederick TD.
With the win, Sumner has done what it can do to cement its resume for an at-large bid and will wait to see if that was enough. The Stingrays had a magical run in 2025, making it all the way to play Venice in the regional finals, winning their first two playoff games, including a wild 31-21 win on the road against Riverview-Sarasota. Venice ended its season just two games short of a title appearance and is looking for a chance to again play November football.
The Lennard Longhorns welcomed the Strawberry Crest Chargers to the Ranch in Ruskin on a night where the school took a moment to honor their seniors. “The L” are racking up the wins and have momentum heading into the postseason, adding a 27-0 win over the Chargers to end their regular season at 8-2. Having already secured their playoff slot, the Longhorns could rest easy and only await whom they will play on Nov. 13, an expected home game. The coaches used the game to keep the players sharp, not falling into a lull heading into the playoffs.
The Longhorns scored first with a FG to get them on the board. After a failed fake punt, Lennard added to its lead with a rushing TD from QB Antonio Balaguer. He finished his night with 243 yards passing and connected with junior Terrence O’Neal-Leather for a passing TD, becoming the Longhorn leader in passing yardage for a single season with 2167 yards. Balaguer is now ranked 23rd in Florida in Total Yards. The senior QB benefited from a strong receiving corps that included Chayse Brown, who was on the receiving end for 906 of those yards. Longhorn senior Preston Beckham scored two rushing TDs and racked up 121 yards on the ground in the win. The defense did its part in the game as it has all season, and Ja’Khi Taylor scooped up a fumble and carried it into the end zone, breaking tackles along the way, for the TD.
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