Gulf Coast and Immokalee are an even 3-3 against one another since September of 2014, but not for long. The Gulf Coast Sharks will take on the Immokalee Indians at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
Gulf Coast is probably headed into the matchup with a chip on their shoulder considering West Broward just ended the team's five-game winning streak on Friday. They were outmatched by the Bobcats at home and fell 63-19. That makes it the first time this season the Sharks have let down their home crowd.
Javien Altine put forth a good effort for the losing side as he rushed for 139 yards.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Gulf Coast was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 233 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 200 rushing yards in four consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Immokalee waltzed into their match on Friday with four straight wins... but they left with five. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat the Patriots 56-21 on the road. The Indians might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five contests by 23 points or more this season.
Immokalee relied on the efforts of Chris Germinal, who threw for 327 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 14.9 yards per attempt, and Jontay Hais, who rushed for 144 yards and three touchdowns on only 13 carries. The dominant performance also gave Germinal a new career-high in rushing yards. Jayden Mixon was another key player, rushing for 98 yards and a touchdown on only 12 carries.
Gulf Coast's loss ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 5-3. As for Immokalee, their record is now 7-1.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Gulf Coast has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 231.8 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Immokalee struggles in that department as they've been averaging 315.3. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Gulf Coast came up short against Immokalee in their previous matchup back in November of 2023, falling 37-30. Thankfully for Gulf Coast, Trannon Villarreal (who rushed for 120 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 7.1 yards per carry, and also threw for 261 yards and two touchdowns while completing 72% of his passes) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
