The Rickards Raiders''s recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Friday after their fourth straight loss. They were outmatched by Florida State University High School at home and fell 43-13. Rickards has struggled against Florida State University High School recently, as their matchup on Friday was their third consecutive lost matchup.
When it comes to explaining why Rickards lost, one person who can't be blamed is Kemarrion Battles. Despite the final result, he picked up 115 receiving yards and a touchdown, and also rushed for 84 yards. Battles was no stranger to the big play, lighting up the secondary with a catch that went for 69 yards.
Florida State University High School can attribute much of their success to Jeremy Johnston, who threw for 270 yards and four touchdowns while completing 85% of his passes. The team also got some help courtesy of Ashton Callahan, who rushed for 98 yards and a touchdown on only eight carries.
Rickards' loss was their fifth straight at home (dating back to last season), which dropped their overall record down to 3-6. Admittedly, the team was facing some tough opposition over that stretch, including 10-0 Wakulla and 8-1 Lincoln (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 68.4% over those games). As for Florida State University High School, the victory makes it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 7-2.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Rickards has the luxury of staying home another week and will welcome Arnold at 7:00 p.m. on October 27th. Arnold comes in on a streak of failing to score more than nine points in their last seven games, a trend the squad is of course eager to reverse. As for Florida State University High School, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Marianna at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Marianna is also coming in off of a big victory, so somebody is in for a big reversal of fortune.
