Football Preview: Jesuit Tigers vs. Clearwater Tornadoes
Two dominant signal callers in Will Griffin 2026 Qb and Jaylen White are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Jesuit Tigers will be staying on the road on Friday to face off against the Clearwater Tornadoes at 7:30 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Jesuit is headed into the contest after thoroughly thrashing Middleton: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Jesuit blew Middleton out of the water with a 42-0 final score. Given Jesuit's advantage in MaxPreps' Florida football rankings (they are ranked 67th, while Middleton is ranked 405th), the result on Thursday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Jesuit's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Griffin 2026 Qb, who threw for 176 yards and three touchdowns. Speaking of playmakers, who could forget Mikey Vernon, who went all the way with a kickoff return for a touchdown.
Meanwhile, Clearwater came tearing into back in October's match with five straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 24.6 points) and they left with even more momentum. They took their game with ease, bagging a 78-0 win over the Cougars. The matchup marked the Tornadoes' most dominant victory of the season.
Clearwater's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Jerry Drain led the charge by rushing for 118 yards and three touchdowns on only five carries. Drain is becoming a predictor of Clearwater's success: when he posts at least two rushing touchdowns the team is undefeated (and 2-3 when he doesn't). White was another key player, throwing for 143 yards and three touchdowns.
Clearwater's defense stepped up as well, laying out the QB three times. In fact, those sacks all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Noel Brown. Another thorn in Countryside's side was Wayne Cunningham, who forced four fumbles and made 14 total tackles.
Jesuit has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a nice bump to their 6-3 record this season. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 39.3 points per game. As for Clearwater, their win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 7-3.
Jesuit strolled past Clearwater when the teams last played back in September of 2020 by a score of 35-21. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Clearwater's Kamrhen Simpkins, who threw for 217 yards and two touchdowns, and also rushed for 76 yards on only ten carries. Now that he won't be playing on Friday, will it be easier for Jesuit to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
