Preview: Lemon Bay Manta Rays vs. First Baptist Academy Lions
Lemon Bay is on a seven-game streak of home wins (dating back to last season), while First Baptist Academy is on a three-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Lemon Bay Manta Rays will take on the First Baptist Academy Lions at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Last Friday, everything came up roses for Lemon Bay at home against Bayshore as the squad secured a 42-6 win. Lemon Bay's offense checked out after the first half but had enough points banked to take the game anyway.
Meanwhile, First Baptist Academy got themselves on the board against Neumann on Friday, but Neumann never followed suit. They claimed a resounding 47-0 victory over the Celtics on the road. Given First Baptist Academy's advantage in MaxPreps' Florida football rankings (they are ranked 85th, while Neumann is ranked 446th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
First Baptist Academy relied on the efforts of Ethan Crossan, who threw for 284 yards and five touchdowns, and Winston Watkins jr., who picked up 188 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Watkins jr. is on a roll when it comes to receiving yards, as he's now posted 100 or more in the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Sam Sparacio, who gained 114 total yards.
First Baptist Academy's defense stepped up as well, laying out the QB 8.5 times. The heavy lifting was done by Nathan Cox and Antonio Amato who racked up four sacks between them.
Their wins bumped Lemon Bay to 7-0 and First Baptist Academy to 5-2.
Lemon Bay was dealt a bruising 35-7 loss at the hands of First Baptist Academy in their previous matchup back in October of 2022. Will Lemon Bay have more luck at home instead of on the road?
