Football Game Preview: Umatilla Bulldogs vs. Crystal River Pirates

The Umatilla Bulldogs will head out to take on the Crystal River Pirates at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Umatilla has five straight victories, Crystal River has three straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

Umatilla is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They blew past Central, posting a 55-6 win. The team's explosion on offense also rewarded the Bulldogs with their most commanding win of the season.

A big part of Umatilla's victory came down to the chemistry between Bryce Norflee and his top target Ray Jenkins. Norflee picked up 143 receiving yards and four scores while Jenkins threw for 272 yards and seven TDs. Those four receiving touchdowns gave Norflee a new career-high. Micah Lambert helped Jenkins out on the ground, rushing for 61 yards and one touchdown on only six carries.

Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something Umatilla proved: they limited Central to a paltry 1.5 yards per carry. The team can thank Grant Kirkland for the heroic effort on defense: he. Umatilla didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 5.8.

Grant Kirkland

Total Tackles

09/19/25 vs Central	10
09/11/25 vs Interlachen	8
09/05/25 vs Eustis	6
08/22/25 @ Tenoroc	5

Umatilla's defense didn't let Niko Demos., get away unscathed either: they got into the backfield for six sacks. Leading the way was Kirkland with three sacks. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 5.8 total tackles per game. Another thorn in Central's side was Zion Reed, who picked up a sack and made five total tackles in addition to snagging two interceptions.

Meanwhile, Crystal River fell victim to Lecanto and their airtight defense on Friday. They had to suffer through a 49-0 loss at the hands of the Panthers. The matchup marked the first time this season in which the Pirates were not able to get on the board.

Crystal River now has a losing record of 2-3. As for Umatilla, their record is now 5-0.

Umatilla came up short against Crystal River when the teams last played back in September of 2024, falling 21-14. Can the Bulldogs avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.