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| 11/10/23 - Home | 38-0 W |
| 09/08/23 - Home | 46-7 W |
| 09/09/22 - Away | 48-17 W |
Manatee is a perfect 3-0 against Charlotte since September of 2022 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Friday. After each having a week off, the two teams will shake off the cobwebs and hit the field against one another at 7:30 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Manatee lost 63-42 to Riverview Sarasota last Friday. The loss continues a trend for the Hurricanes in their meetings with the Rams: they've now lost seven in a row.
Despite the defeat, Manatee got top-tier performance from Keith Smith, who picked up 61 receiving yards and two touchdowns, and also rushed for 73 yards and one score on only seven carries. The bulk of those receiving yards came from one huge play: a catch that gained an incredible 54 yards. Mason Summer was another key player, throwing for 189 yards and three TDs.
Special teams also played a big role in the game for Manatee, adding 12 points to the final score. The biggest highlight from special teams (and perhaps the team as a whole) came courtesy of Smith, who ran a kickoff back for a touchdown.
Meanwhile, Charlotte humbled North Fort Myers with a 37-7 victory. The result was nothing new for the Fightin' Tarpons, who have now won four matchups by 30 points or more so far this season.
Charlotte's receiving core played a big role in the win, headlined by Kamran Curliss and Daveon Daniels. Curliss picked up 80 receiving yards and a pair of scores while Daniels picked up 46 receiving yards and one touchdown. Those 80 receiving yards gave Curliss a new career-high.
Charlotte's run defense was locked in: North Fort Myers could only muster 1.4 yards per carry. The team can thank Nathan Slater for the heroic effort on defense: he. Sadly, that's becoming something of a trend for Charlotte; they were averaging 6.1yards per carry per game earlier this season, but in their last three contests they've fallen to only 4.4 per game.
Charlotte didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Kristian Palmer and Rylan Unruh. Charlotte got some further help from Slater: he picked up four sacks and made 15 total tackles (5.0 for loss).
Charlotte's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 6-4. Those road victories came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 6.7 points on average over those games. As for Manatee, their loss dropped their record down to 4-6.
Everything came up roses for Manatee against Charlotte when the teams last played back in November of 2023, as the team secured a 38-0 win. Will the Hurricanes repeat their success, or do the Fightin' Tarpons have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
