The Bartow Yellow Jackets will square off against the Lake Wales Highlanders at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The timing isn't great for Bartow: they have been struggling with five straight losses at home dating back to last season, while Lake Wales has snatched up three consecutive wins on the road.
Bartow fought the good fight in their overtime game against Durant on Friday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell 46-40 to the Cougars. Even if the Yellow Jackets couldn't come away with the victory, the high-scoring effort was a great turnaround for their offense, which had struggled int the games prior.
Bartow might have lost, but man, Ethan Brous was a machine: he threw for 417 yards and five TDs while picking up 11.3 yards per attempt, and also rushed for 40 yards and one touchdown. Another player making a difference was Major McBath, who picked up 153 receiving yards and one score.
Meanwhile, Lake Wales' offense rose to the challenge against a Kowboys defense that boasted an average of only 13.33 points allowed on Friday. The Highlanders walked away with a 35-27 win over Osceola.
Lake Wales' win came from a few key players Bartow will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Kaneilius Purdy, who picked up 202 receiving yards and three TDs. He really caught the secondary sleeping when he pulled down a catch that went for 77 yards. Kingston Loydd was another key passer, throwing for 282 yards and four touchdowns while completing 88.2% of his passes.
Lake Wales didn't let much get past them through the air: they limited Osceola to a completion percentage of just 43.5%. The team can thank D'Cari Smith for the heroic effort on defense: he. Lake Wales has been improving in that area: they had allowed a completion percentage of 0.65 earlier this season, but they've only allowed one of 0.65 in their last three games.
Lake Wales' defense didn't let Amaree Rutland, get away unscathed either: they got into the backfield for three sacks. The team can thank three different players for their defensive prowess: Smith, Walter Davis III, and Bj Alston, who each picked up one sack apiece. Another thorn in Osceola's side was Smith, who picked up a sack, made 15 total tackles (2.0 for loss), and defended three passes.
Bartow's loss dropped their record down to 3-6. As for Lake Wales, their victory bumped their record up to 7-2.
Bartow couldn't quite finish off Lake Wales in their previous meeting back in November of 2024 and fell 28-25. Thankfully for the Yellow Jackets, Brycen Levidiotis (who threw for 297 yards and three TDs on only 17 passes, and also punched in one score on the ground) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
