Football Preview: IMG Academy White Ascenders vs. Key West Conchs
The IMG Academy White Ascenders will venture away from home to square off against the Key West Conchs at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both will really light up the scoreboard.
While Ascenders fans will have to keep waiting for their team to come home, they shouldn't be too worried about the road trip considering the result of Friday's season opener. They came out on top against Episcopal School of Dallas by a score of 38-28 on Friday. Given the Ascenders' advantage in MaxPreps' football rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 93rd in Florida, while the Eagles are ranked 292nd in Texas), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Josh Barido went supernova for IMG Academy White, throwing for 343 yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing for 34 yards and a touchdown. Shepherd Miller handled things on the ground, rushing for 92 yards.
IMG Academy White didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Michael Hunt Jr and Mason Wydra. Jacob Hanson was another major factor on D, picking up three sacks and making eight total tackles (4.5 for loss).
Meanwhile, Key West took care of business in their home opener on Friday (and then some). They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Clewiston 35-6 at home. The Conchs pushed the score to 28-6 by the end of the third, a deficit the Tigers had little chance of recovering from.
This one was won in the trenches and the lion's share of the credit has to go to Walson Morin and he. Morin rushed for 75 yards and two touchdowns on only seven carries while he rushed for 75 yards and two touchdowns on only seven carries. Jaden Fox's longest rush was for an impressive 56 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Key West was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 358 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 202 rushing yards in 11 consecutive games dating back to last season.
IMG Academy White took their victory against Key West in their previous matchup back in September of 2023 by a conclusive 41-21. Does IMG Academy White have another victory up their sleeve, or will Key West turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
