Football Preview: Nature Coast Tech Sharks vs. Mulberry Panthers
The Nature Coast Tech Sharks will head out to take on the Mulberry Panthers at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Nature Coast Tech will roll into the match after a wild two-game stretch: they only put up seven points last Friday, then bounced right back against Dunedin on Wednesday. Nature Coast Tech took their contest with ease, bagging a 49-14 victory over Dunedin. The game was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point the Sharks had established a 28 point advantage.
It was another big night for Jackson Hoyt, who threw for 290 yards and three touchdowns while completing 77.3% of his passes, and also rushed for 82 yards and a touchdown on only five carries. Nature Coast Tech is 5-2 when Hoyt posts three or more passing touchdowns, but 0-3 otherwise. Lj Elwin also helped with two touchdowns in total.
Nature Coast Tech didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Dominick Picariello Iii, Kayden Berton, and Aveion Jackson picked up one apiece.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Mulberry). Their defense stepped up to hand DeSoto County a 54-0 shutout on Thursday. Given the Panthers' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida football rankings (they are ranked 257th, while the Bulldogs are ranked 526th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Mulberry relied on the efforts of Traveon Hymes, who rushed for 141 yards and two touchdowns on only seven carries, and Laquinton Chandler, who threw for 141 yards and three touchdowns while completing 87.5% of his passes. The dominant performance also gave Chandler a new career-high in rushing yards (30).
Mulberry's win was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 9-1. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 36.0 points per game. As for Nature Coast Tech, their victory ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 5-5.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Nature Coast Tech has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 198.3 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Mulberry struggles in that department as they've been averaging 164.4. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other football content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
